My Ticket Home
by OmNomN0mnivore
Summary: "Effective as of now, Uzumaki Naruto has been labeled as MIA. Get an APB out to all available ANBU Black OPS! …We're bringing the Brat home at all costs." Sasu/Fem!Naru Slight AU T for now.  HIATUS For now. Sorry guys, life struck.
1. Chp 0 PilotChoose Your Poison

**Disclaimer:** Screw Kishi, Naruto belongs to Sasuke. ;D Naw, but srsly …I don't own any of the song titles or bands mentioned. (However slightly they may be.)

**Warning!** If you are not current with the Manga, there **_will_** be **SPOILERS**

**Description: **Takes place 3 years after the war. Madara and Kabuto's armies were brought to their knees and pushed back. Though the war was barely won by the great nations, Madara _still _happened to escape and has since been trying to salvage the Akatsuki and capture the last living Jinchūriki.

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**My Ticket Home**

Chp. **0**

(**Pilot**/ Choose Your Poison)

By: **OmNomN0mnivore**

Betad by:** MrsHellman**

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_If this isn't a 'fuck-my-life' moment, then I don't know what is_ . . . Naruto thought to herself as she was backed up into the railing of the Tenshi bridge. With a slight gulp she dared to look down to the raging river below her. It just had to be here of all places.

With a slight shudder at the irony she locked eyes with her pursuer. Her tired features tense; azure eyes hard and rebellious.

"End of the line princess," her pursuer spat. "You've got nowhere left to run and when I get my hands on you I'm going to break every valuable bone in your body and watch as you struggle to escape the fate you were damned into, you demon."

_Inevitably-life-threatening-raging-river or Sadistic-soul-devouring-Akatsuki-member? Oh the choices_, she thought to herself. "Che . . . it would have to be painful wouldn't it? I swear the lot of you get off on that sort of thing."

A guttural laugh was her only response as she struggled not to roll her eyes at the cliché 'Evildoer'.

_I'd rather die than let them tear my soul to shreds just for the sake of some fucking lunatic Uchiha's world dominating mega weapon_, she growled in her mind.

**_For once I can agree with that_**, Kyūbi grumbled from behind its cage; anger rolling off of the great demon in waves.

_You would, wouldn't you?_ she replied, knowing full-well the extent of his hate for Madara Uchiha. It was then that she took note of the other two arrivals. _Shit. It's looking more and more like there's only one way out of this mess. They purposely separated me from Sakura and Sai._

**_You're surely not thinking of that, are you?_**

_What else would I be thinking of? If they manage to get those new chakra restraints on me we're finished either way. You saw what they did to Bee. Are you saying that you'd rather be Madara's pet?_

**_Your idea will likely kill us both anyway. Are you out of your-_**

_Shut up, Kyūbi. I'm trying to think here,_ she said and felt like rolling her eyes.

**_There's a first for everything,_** the fox muttered from the back of her mind. She could feel the growl he let escape from behind sealed bars.

"Urgh . . . Fuck this. I didn't want it to end this way, but I've got shit to keep secret and like hell I'd let you nab me." Digging quickly into her weapons pouch she pulled out a vile containing one white pill. A suicide pill.

**_Naruto_**, Kyūbi thundered from his confinement. He was seething now.

_It's either this or the loss of many more innocent lives at my expense. I can't live knowing their blood is on my hands. And if I die, you die. Thus they have no chance in hell at resurrecting Jūbi. The less ammo Uchiha Madara has, the better off every nation will be_, she argued back.

Staring at the vile in her palm, Naruto vaguely recalled Tsunade having to supply it to her. Recalling the grim look across the woman's seemingly young features, she was reluctant in doing this, but this was war. Naruto was a part of Konoha's ANBU forces, and the old woman could spare no sentimentalities in times such as these.

The blonde closed her eyes as she remembered how Tsunade had embraced her surrogate granddaughter tightly and asked her not to use it unless extremely necessary. Naruto knew her duties and she would never risk another major attack on Konoha just because someone happened to capture her. She was in a predicament just like that now. Nearly drained of chakra and having not slept in two weeks, she was at her limit.

She popped the vile open with her thumb and dropped the pill into her bloodied palm, staining it with the mocking color. Making a hasty decision she flung herself onto the opposite side of the railing and consumed the pill, gulping it down with closed eyes.

As the newly recruited Akatsuki members rushed toward her, they growled in protest as she let herself fall freely into the deadly current below. She felt the world speed up as she made summersault after summersault in the air before feeling the water hit her back, making her frown in pain. Disappearing quickly into the vast raging water with not a sound leaving her throat, she let herself welcome whatever was ahead of her.

All Naruto could recall as the poison set in, was feeling utterly calm. Even with water rushing harshly up through her nose and into her mouth. She could feel her lungs straining for precious air and she could hear the great demon fox roaring in dispute.

She could not see anything anymore, her vision too blurred. It was when she was flung into a jagged rock formation that she truly lost consciousness. The current carrying her farther and faster than the Akatsuki could keep up with.

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AN: So lovelies, drop me a line and let me know if this is worth continuing ~

Not gonna lie, I have a 2 month old and updates may be slow-ish, but this idea is EATING MY SOUL.


	2. Chp 1 Take One Last Breath

Disclaimer: Chp Title borrowed from _Abandon All Ships. _

_WARNING! **THERE WILL BE SOME SPOILERS**, IF YOU ARE NOT CURRENT WITH THE MANGA. _

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_**My Ticket Home**_  
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Chp. **1**

(Take One Last Breath)

_By: OmNomN0mnivore  
_

_Betad by: MrsHellman_

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The setting sun cast a warm ethereal glow through the windows of the remains of the Hokage tower. It had been three years since the ending of the fourth great Shinobi World War.

Tsunade – the reinstated fifth Hokage – was pacing holes into the creaking floor boards of her office – something she rarely did. Her sake was left untouched on her haphazard desk. The brat and her team left Konoha about a month ago on a very important mission to deliver invaluable information that could lead to the end of what was left of this chaos. They were to deliver a message to those on one of the battle positions just outside Kusagakure.

Tsunade had heard nothing of the team since their departure and it was making her anxious. She sighed heavily as she looked around at the battered room she was pacing in. Normally she would not be anywhere nearby this room. However, with the war finally dying down (with the exception the elusive Uchiha) it was pertinent that the five Kages return to their respective lands and watch over their cities inhabitants – to defend what was left of the families who've lost their loved ones to the perilous carnage. In retrospect her gut had told her not to let the Jinchūriki go, for obvious reasons.

Still, the old woman knew very well that a caged Naruto was an unbearably irritating Naruto. Not only that, but she needed the blonde's abilities as a certified shinobi and the kid was no pushover. Even then, the Hokage could not deny that inkling feeling of unease growing like a leech in her heart. She just _knew_ something was wrong.

Call it an omen if you will, but she wasn't daft.

She never won a bet or a gamble – the times that she had never ended happily and just this morning she had won the lotto. Thus, was the reason she was pacing, waiting for the bad news to arrive. Little did she know it'd arrive sooner than she expected.

"Tsunade-sama!" a frantic Shizune shouted as she ran into the shabby office. "An urgent message from Team Fox!"

Tsunade steeled her expression and hurriedly took the scroll from her apprentice. What she read stilled her further. It was from Sai, and clearly scrawled in haste. Written in the ANBU phonetic alphabet, it read: _Akatsuki separated us. _

It was then that the color drained further from Tsunade's face. That could only mean one thing: Sai and Sakura cannot locate Naruto.

"Shizune!" Tsunade said sternly, startling the shaken young woman.

"Y-yes, Tsunade-sama?" she replied in haste.

"Effective as of now, Uzumaki Naruto has been labeled as MIA. Get an APB** (1)** out to all available ANBU Black OPS! We're bringing the brat home at all costs!"

"Yes Tsunade-sama!" she called out as she sprinted from the room. The Hokage watching as the young woman retreated.

"Troublesome . . . wouldn't you say, Shikamaru?" Her expression was as unreadable as the figure in her doorway was.

The distinct clicking sound of an opening and closing lighter resounded in the office and the hall. "All due respect Tsunade-sama, it's more than just that," he replied. "I wouldn't go counting Naruto out; the kid never went down without a fight. Male or female."

This made the old woman laugh despite herself.

"Nothing but smoke and mirrors, that damn brat."

She recalled the day that Naruto came out with the truth. One old coot of a Sandaime and a really powerful genjutsu later and insta-boy-Naruto was born. That kid and Jiraiya both pulled the wool over everyone's eyes when the third had died, using a _henge _to top it all off. Impressive to say the least.

Given the life Naruto had to live, it was a wise decision, no doubt, to keep it as hushed as possible. One could only imagine the abuse she'd have to endure if they hadn't come to that decision. Now that she was a respected shinobi and could defend herself, it was less of a burden to the girl.

She may have come out with the truth to Jiraiya out of necessity, but she knew very well that it was out of trust and love that the girl told Tsunade. That along with all the trips the blonde made to the hospital, Tsunade was bound to find out.

As the Hokage finally took to sitting down she could only pray that her granddaughter-figure was safe somewhere . . .

xxx

To say Suigetsu was bored was an understatement.

In between talking animatedly to a silent Jūgo and attempting to annoy the always stoic Uchiha Sasuke, Suigetsu gave up reluctantly and began to amuse himself by turning himself into water and solidifying repetitively.

He continuously did so as he walked across the surface of a river that the remaining team Taka members were following back to Otogakure.

They had been walking for hours and traveling for days before that. They had finally made it past the border between Kusagakure and Takigakure, restlessly following the river instead of treading closer to the bordering Fire Country.

They may have not been in league, feloniously, with the only other remaining Uchiha any longer, but they knew where they weren't wanted. Thus they wandered aimlessly.

Well, not _too _aimlessly, if you counted Sasuke wanting to kill Kabuto's scandalous ass for bringing back his beloved brother and using him as a puppet for war.

Suigetsu shuddered as he remembered his own brother having been used as a pawn. That was _no_ way to treat a legend. But then again, to him, _any_ of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Blood Mist Village were legends – which is what led him to sticking around.

He was going around, as always, trying to find their scattered swords. It was hard to keep track of all of them during that damn war. Now he had to re-scour the nations involved and see where it led him.

Sasuke's brooding-self was his ticket to do just that.

As for Jūgo, well, he was still one bipolar motherfucker and needed Sasuke like valium or lithium.

_Cool guy, but not one who I'd let slip off the radar, _Suigetsu mused to himself.

The aforementioned raven himself was a whole lot o'crazy too, but not _that_ . . . oh who was he kidding; this guy was fucking homicidal. Maybe he wouldn't eat babies or shit like that, but he wasn't a saint of any kind. At least he wasn't one of Madara's brands of crazy anymore.

So here they were, walking in the middle of the evening, nothing better to do except for hunting down psychopaths. Suigetsu could tell that they were going to set up camp soon though. Even the two 'crazies' had limits.

Shrugging it off, he was fine to wait for Sasuke's body language. Up ahead however, he saw something shimmer in a peculiar way as it bobbed downstream toward him.

"Hey Boss!" he called back to the impassive Uchiha. Taking the shift in his blank stare as recognition, he continued. "I see something weird up ahead, want me to scope it out?"

After a noncommittal grunt Sasuke muttered a "go for it."

With a grin the boy seemingly disappeared as he liquefied and floated toward the mass of gold, bobbing along.

His curiosity peaked as he drew nearer. Finding the mass strange he solidified into a walk and stood along to water's surface before it. Sasuke looked up at him in question at his abrupt stop.

"Duuuuuude . . . it's a floater!" Suigetsu called out in a tone that unusually sounded like disgust and morbid fascination, which made Jūgo visibly flinch. Sasuke remained inexpressive but was oddly attentive.

Lifting a sandaled foot, the water-esque boy moved the body to face upright and what he saw made him exclaim again.

"S'too bad! She's a real babe too!"

He looked down at the waterlogged young woman in awe. She really was a sight. Long golden blond hair flowed about her haphazardly, her bangs matted to her face with blood and water. Her features were soft and kind, although if her attire was anything to go by she was a ninja. One who'd apparently seen a lot of combat, if the scars and wounds on her body were anything to go by.

She wasn't just any special ops ninja though; upon closer inspection it appeared that she was an ANBU Black Ops member from Konohagakure.

As Sasuke and Jūgo started over to the Mist-nin, Suigetsu decided to voice his findings.

"She's from Konoha!" he yelled even though the other two were closer than before.

In one fluid motion he knelt down on the water's surface next to her and pulled the headband from around her neck and tossed it to Sasuke, who caught it in one hand. The raven leered down at the forehead protector and in a brief nostalgic moment, ran his fingertips across the engraved metal, the symbol of his former homeland.

Curiosity more than spiked, he trudged closer. Lazily he rose onto the water's surface by applying chakra to his feet. He walked over to Suigetsu who was on both knees now; untying the ANBU mask from a loop on her waist, he pulled the porcelain piece up for examination. It depicted a fox.

Looking up at Sasuke he tossed the mask to him as well.

"ANBU . . ." the raven ascertained immediately as he looked to the guise in his hands.

Inwardly he flinched. He was not yet close enough to see her but something in him clicked. Sunshine hair, fox mask . . . it was too coincidental.

Pushing past the white haired shinobi, he stared down at her and was stunned into place. It was _him . . . _but only . . . different. In any case he'd recognize that stupid ass jutsu from anywhere.

This definitely was Naruto. By the looks of it '_was'_ might very well have been the case. But if so, then how was this jutsu still in effect? It didn't add up. The blond hadn't so much as batted an eyelash since Sasuke laid eyes on him.

Kneeling down Sasuke checked his vitals. Surprisingly he'd found a weak but steady pulse. That was enough for now. "Help me pull him up."

"Hmm?" Suigetsu inquired in a bored fashion until it clicked. "Wai'wha? H-him? That chick's a DUDE?"

"This _chick _is Uzumaki Naruto, now help me," Sasuke spat.

"What the hell? The Jinchūriki?" Suigetsu exclaimed in surprise. He shuddered for calling him a babe.

"Yes. Now shut it and grab his legs, try not to jar him."

Suigetsu reluctantly bent down and did as he was told, still in a fog of 'what-the-fuck?'.

Together he and Sasuke carefully lifted Naruto's small pale form and moved her to the bank. Laying her down, Sasuke didn't know what possessed him to even do this but he ordered Jūgo to get some wood for a fire. With a brisk order of "we're setting up camp" he continued what he was doing.

Breathing deeply into Naruto's mouth, he gave the blond the air he needed. The blond soon coughed up water but remained unconscious. The raven's two companions only nodded dazedly as Sasuke began to disarm the unconscious form before him and removed the ANBU flackjacket.

Naruto may have appeared to be dead for all rational reason, but he felt _its _chakra sustaining the Jinchūriki's body. If there were ever a time Naruto was lucky to have the Kyūbi, it was now.

Sasuke couldn't help but ask himself why he hadn't just walked away. It seemed almost interminable. Naruto would come after him, they would fight, Sasuke would want to kill the dobe and then he'd end up sparing him anyway. He was beginning to wonder if this was really another whim-case, until his chest tightened at seeing those pale blue lips tremble from hypothermia and god knows what else.

He let go of a breath he hadn't known he held and gradually stripped Naruto's body of its bloodstained clothing. Removing Itachi's Akatsuki cloak he wrapped it securely around the unnaturally pale naked body before him. Shivers and slight mewls of pain wracked the Jinchūriki's body.

At this point Sasuke registered that the other two had finished setting up.

"Y'know Boss, the idea is to strip yourself naked and hold the hypothermia victim to your body," his water-esque subordinate supplied suggestively; wagging his eyebrows up and down as a smirk split across his face, baring razor sharp teeth.

Sasuke didn't even dignify him with a scowl. Though inwardly he was a cluster-fuck of embarrassment, hatred, and oddly fear. He'd never held another person that intimately – life threatening situation or otherwise. Plus it was _Naruto. _The one person he's debated killing in cold blood on more than one occasion. Plus he was wearing that _stupid _henge of his. How the hell was he supposed to deal with that?

Suigetsu could tell that he was waging an internal war and smirked knowingly at the dark haired rogue-nin.

"Better hurry up Boss, before your little cross-dressing boyfriend turns completely blue."

_Why didn't I leave the dobe for dead? _he asked himself with dread.

As if to make matters worse the loser started convulsing and blood mixed with something black began oozing out from behind blue lips. Shaking Sasuke and Suigetsu out of their shocked stupor, Jūgo spoke up at long last, saying the only thing that has made sense so far.

"Um . . . judging by her appearance and given her current standing with Akatsuki . . . I could be wrong but I think she tried to kill herself. It looks like the effects of some kind of suicide pill. Orochimaru used to test them out on his subjects . . . all the time."

_Naruto . . . commit suicide? _

Sasuke was at Naruto's side in an instant, pulling him halfway onto his lap to keep the dobe from choking on his own blood.

No. Not the Naruto he knew. Not that happy retarded dead-last that everyone loved to hate but learned to love wholeheartedly anyway. It just didn't fit no matter how many times Sasuke would turn it over in his mind.

He knew a lot about poisons. Hell, he'd spent the worst half of his life with a pedophiliac snake bastard, of course he knew. So taking Jūgo words and some unknown drive, he began to strip himself and do anything in his power to keep the sun from burning out.

He knew he would spare Naruto, but not for old time's sake. No, it was because Itachi no longer wanted his little brother's hands stained with innocent blood.

He took one last breath as he took a metaphoric leap.

Clutching Naruto closely he involuntarily shivered as the dobe's cool skin hit his own. Suigetsu was clearly pleased by this – if the amused chuckle was anything to go by.

"If only Karin could see you now!" the boy barked out. Sasuke's face remained impassive but he inwardly cringed.

"I'll go find us some food," Jūgo supplied helpfully and took Sasuke's short nod as the affirmative.

Clad only in boxers the raven shinobi scooped Naruto's body into his arms after further inspection and deemed it necessary to move into one of the tents, laying him down.

Gathering a small amount of chakra into his palm, he cleaned and cauterized each deep gash with a small katon. Kyūbi seemed to be doing its job, but rather slowly. Sasuke assumed this was because of the poison running its course through their body.

Leering down at the younger shinobi, he wanted to berate himself for caring. However, he just couldn't find the effort to do so. Most of his life was a convoluted lie that was completely out of the blonds hands. All the dobe tried to do was help. Thus it made hating him hard. Sasuke was no good at living peacefully and hadn't the slightest idea of how to care, but he would try. If only for the promise made to his brother.

Checking through his bag of supplies he pulled out what was needed and he wrapped the dobe's wounds and used a sterile washcloth to dab some of the blood lingering in his mouth.

"Damn henge . . ."

He was no medic-nin. He wasn't going to delude himself into thinking that even now, the boy would survive, but he was no slouch either.

He'd taken care of his own wounds many times before and knew how to do it well. At this point however, he was at his limit of expertise and could only rely on Kyūbi to do the rest of the work. In any case, he was sure Naruto would make it through the night. The color was gradually returning to his body, this could only be a good sign.

After about an hour of lying with him he deemed it okay to leave him unattended, but thoroughly bundled. Stepping out into the cool night air he saw Suigetsu chewing on a fish bone near the fire and Jūgo silently meditating against the trunk of a tree. The water-esque boy perked up, but the latter remained motionless and tranquil.

"Done spooning your confused boyfriend?" Suigetsu said in pure amusement.

Sasuke refused to be baited and remained silent. The boy took that as a sign to continue.

"So, what's the plan Boss? We never took into account saving a floater. Any ideas as to what to do with 'im?" The boys lavender eyes held nothing but pure interest.

"Honestly?" The raven queried quirking a brow.

"Sure." The other boy conceded, nodding nonchalantly.

"I have no fucking clue . . ." he laughed bitterly.

Being so consumed in darkness with no light for so long, how does one even fathom to handle human ties? These so called _bonds _as the blond shinobi liked to say.

Sasuke hadn't the slightest idea of how to carefully assess the situation. Surely if they left the injured boy-turned-girl here he might as well have signed his death warrant. That was the last thing on Sasuke's list of objectives. In retrospect, it should have been his first, but that was then. This was now. He knew that wherever he was, Madara was shuddering right this minute; this thought was to Sasuke's immense amusement.

Suigetsu smiled sheepishly. "Killed you to say that, huh?"

The raven surprised him with a smirk. Something he was slowly getting used to doing again. "I don't know what's worse. Admitting I was wrong or admitting he was right all along."

The water-nin chuckled.

"Kind of a doubled edged sword when concerning you _Uchihas_," he replied putting emphasis on the raven's surname, like it explained everything.

Sasuke's expression held an almost nonexistent smile. Suigetsu reminded him of Naruto at times. Not afraid to say anything to him.

The boy had absolutely no tact, yet Suigetsu wasn't as naïve as the dobe. However, when it came to times when Suigetsu was as unbearable as Karin had been, he always had Jūgo to salvage whatever sanity he had left.

Back to the matter: what _was _he going to do about Naruto?

The kid was a target and Sasuke knew he wouldn't be in this predicament if it wasn't as bad as it seemed. The Akatsuki must have still wanted him and badly enough to force the Jinchūriki to choose which mattered most.

Life or death.

The rogue ninja knew the answer. Naruto was just selfless enough to choose his own demise over the deaths of others. It was his nature.

Now that he'd answered his own question from earlier, it left him with the most peculiar feeling. He couldn't place his finger on what it was. All he knew was that it left him feeling naked and obligated.

_Damn you Naruto._

_

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AN: **(1) APB** (in our world it's mean _All Police Broadcast_) It'd generally mean the same thing but in ANBU terms.

**Kusagakure – Hidden Grass Village **

**Otogakure – Hidden Sound Village**

**Takigakure – Hidden Waterfall Village**

Thanks for reading!


	3. Chp 2 The Opportunity to be

**AN:** I wanted to thank you all for the support, I hope this chapter meets your expectations.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the title of this chapter It's a song that belongs to the band _My Ticket Home_.

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**My Ticket Home**

Chp. **2**

(The Opportunity to be…)

By: **OmNomN0mnivore**

Betad by: **MrsHellman**

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As Naruto roused from her sleep she was aware of three things: 1) she was alive, a furious Kyūbi having woken her up, 2) she wasn't in as much pain as before, and 3) if the warmth surrounding her was anything to go by, she was being taken care of.

The questions were: 'where was she?' and 'who had her under their care?'

She had the taste of blood in her mouth and felt like she'd been hit by a train. Squinting her eyes as she slid them open, she carefully took in her surroundings. She felt dazed, but knew she was in a tent of some sort. There were no sounds or distinct smells to go by. She did however smell burning wood, but that wasn't uncommon after the war. There was something different about this though; a campfire, perhaps?

Even though her body was sore she stubbornly struggled to sit up; being able to hold her head upright whilst she felt like the world had taken her captive on a roller-coaster, she counted as a personal achievement.

The covers slid down into her lap and she became aware of the fact that her upper body was exposed to cold air. Looking down she saw that her chest was bandaged and so were her arms and hands. However, that wasn't what made her senses sharpen; in her lap rested a midnight black cloak with tell-tale blood red clouds scattered across it. Her mind reeled and she felt like retching. _Akatsuki. _

After all her efforts she was still alive and now they had captured her. An overbearing feeling of dread washed over her. Scenarios running rampant through her mind.

**_Calm down. Think rationally . . . why would an Akatsuki member take the time to bandage your wounds? _**the old fox reasoned.

_Probably to keep me alive long enough for Madara to finish the job himself!_ she replied with chagrin.

**_W_****_hy would an Akatsuki member leave you unattended? _**the fox retorted and Naruto blinked in infuriation.

_Why the hell would I know that? _she yelled back at him in alarm.

Taking a quick look around, her vision blurred slightly. She had no time for dealing with this. Weapons, she needed her weapons. Even though she knew she had to be disarmed, she unconsciously felt around for her kunai pouch, only to find that she did in fact still have her black jounin pants on. She exhaled shakily, confused.

**_Would you _****relax****_? Your idiotic panicking is making us sick. Be glad you still have chakra if nothing else._**

It was then that she looked down and found that she wasn't bound with chakra restraints. Just what the hell was going on? Who was it that had her? Why was there any room for trust? Or did they assume she'd be comatose for a longer period of time?

Taking a deep breath, and exhaling to calm her nerves, she reached out with Kyūbi's senses. It was then that she caught on to three powerful chakra signatures scattered around the area. One of which was very familiar, but she couldn't think of anyone she knew to be a member of Akats- wait . . .

_It couldn't be . . . could it? _She swallowed hard; her throat painfully dry.

**_I assume you've figured something out?_** the fox asked expectantly.

_I have to know if I'm right. _With all her strength she struggled to her feet, trying her best to ignore the pain in her chest for various reasons. She prayed to Kami this wasn't some sick joke. That or she was dead and this was the hell she'd been dragged to.

She barely made it two feet before she was on her knees and out of breath.

"Why is this so fucking hard?" she muttered to herself.

**_We_****_ still have poison coursing through our veins. Our body is still trying to dispel it. It's making me work my ass off just to keep us breathing properly, thank you very much. _**Kyūbi scoffed in abhorrence. **_I told you not to do it but noooo, no one listens to the ten thousand year old demon. He's just an old coot who knows nothing._**

_Since when did you become so sarcastic?_

**_Since you sentenced us to a five day stay in hell. I could only do so much as you struggled to survive. You're lucky you had that other brat to help your ass or we'd have been screwed, up shit creek, literally!'_**

Her eyes widened at his exclamation. _Kyūbi . . . is it really him? Tell me._

**_Why don't you find out for yourself? I've done enough shit for you for one week._**

That was all she needed to propel herself forward; staggering toward the tent entrance. It was easier said than done and she felt like steadying against something. It didn't stop her though, nothing could.

Stepping outside was like a shock to her senses but running face first into a hard familiar chest was another. It _was _him.

Naruto felt tears burning in the corners of her eyes, begging to be released, but she held them back for all she was worth. She didn't dare to speak; didn't even dare look up. She just stood still, her knees beginning to quaking beneath her.

"Would ya look at that, Sleeping Beauty is awake!" she heard an unfamiliar voice exclaim.

"You've got some explaining to do, Dobe."

His voice was cool, restrained, but not entirely unkind. At least it wasn't filled with the evil venom it used to spew with threats of death. She didn't even know where to begin - what to say. Hell she hadn't even looked at him yet. Timidly she looked up feeling like a coward that she was not. She could handle this, it was just Sasuke. The only boy she'd ever put her entire existence on the line for.

Swallowing whatever doubt or fear she had, she locked crystal blue with onyx.

"Sasuke-I-why?" Her confusion was clear, and he knew why.

They both sighed thinking along the same lines. This was going to be one _long _conversation.

xxx

Once she was settled in her makeshift bed - her bandages having been changed - the silence became thick and awkward. Sasuke sat before her with an unreadable expression, and it was unnerving to say the least. She kind of wanted to punch him in the face. Both to vent the pent up frustrations for over the last six and a half years and to clear the air, but she remained where she was - hands stayed fisted in her lap.

Sasuke seemed tense and frustrated, himself. Like he wanted to lash out at her for some reason but kept himself in check instead. This kind of amused her in a morbid sort of way. At least he wasn't dripping in malice anymore. She always hated an overly-emo Sasuke. She guessed he'd figured out that life wasn't as dark and bleak as he'd thought.

Sasuke cleared his throat and her thoughts at the same time. He gave her a once over. Leering in that way that said you're-a-fucking-dumbass all over his face.

"Why'd you help me?" She broke the silence. "Last I checked you were a member of Akatsuki." There. Straightforward and to the point. It was out in the open now.

The boy seemed to struggle for words. Sincerity flitted through his eyes but as soon as it showed it was replaced by that immense annoyance he'd been exuding ever since she barreled into him. It was confusing her.

Kyūbi chuckled in dark amusement.

_What's so funny?_

**_Oh, nothing . . . just enjoying the show. Y'know if I actually liked popcorn, I'd be in need of some right . . . now. _**

Sasuke finally blew a gasket. "Why_? _Che . . . how do you expect me to speak with you seriously if you're in that perverted henge? I seriously thought you grew out of at least that, but I guess I was wrong. Even when you weren't conscious it was like you were taunting me, it's annoying."

It seemed like a dam broke in Naruto's mind as she totally blanked out. All she could hear was the thunderous laughter of her demonic occupant. What the hell was he talking about? How was she annoying to him? And what perverted henge was- oh . . .OH!

"Oh . . . oh my."

She honestly looked taken aback and surprised at herself which made the dark haired nin blink uncharacteristically. Something wasn't adding up here. He just blew up on him, like when they were kids and now this? An 'oh' and what seemed like honest surprise and dread.

"Oh my _what, _Naruto?" he replied in a clipped tone.

This was getting nowhere and the dobe in front of him instantly clamped up. Onyx eyes met electric blue in askance; both their expressions tight and devoid of humor. This wasn't sitting right with the Uchiha, not one bit.

"Sasuke . . ." the blond began slowly.

"Yes?" he answered impatiently, eyes hard. He didn't need the Sharingan to notice that the blond dobe gulped in nervousness.

"Well . . . you see. Funny thing is that . . ." She laughed nervously to herself, carefully choosing her words.

**_Kami . . . _****_is this hysterical, or what? We could die right now and I'd be happy._**

Her face soured for a split second before taking on that nervousness again. This conversation was becoming very irritating and awkward - fast.

"Would you spit it out already? You're acting weirder than usual, which is a feat for a dobe like you. So hurry up and spill before I _make you_," he threatened her, eyes glinting red.

"This isn't a henge," she blurted out quicker than she intended to. She was going to tug the metaphoric band aid, but it was too late for that once he forced her to rip it off. Judging by the look on his face, ripping it might have been a horrible idea, even if he wanted to know what was going on.

"W-what?" he sputtered out. Back up . . . Uchiha's did _not _sputter, stutter, or choke on words in an undignified manner - _unless _momentary conditions met necessity. Thus, when throwing an Uzumaki and an Uchiha together, results always varied. This was one of those times. Think of the Uzumaki as the Mentos™ and the Uchiha as the Coke™ bottle. That was the severity of the randomness that ensued whenever Naruto was near Sasuke. So in this case, Uchiha Pride® was irrelevant. It was shot to hell and dropped off of a cliff - head first.

"Okay, okay . . . bad idea. I know, no tact and all, but . . . let me explain, okay," she exclaimed whilst flailing her arms, and the Uchiha nodded impassively.

She took a deep breath and started from the beginning. "Okay . . . you _probably_ don't know this, since you've been AWOL for years, but Namikaze Minato - the Yondaime Hokage - was my father. I found out about this three and a half years ago. As you know - between having no parents and growing up as a Jinchūriki - life wasn't always the easiest. Since both my parents lost their lives earlier than expected, the old man - Sandaime Hokage - took it upon himself to keep me safe. The geezer apparently cast a very strong genjutsu over me."

She paused for a second to see if he was still with her and took his strenuous silence as the affirmative to continue.

"He knew I'd grow up in a foster home for my first years of life and feared me getting hurt; knowing full well that everyone in the village hated me. Growing up as a boy would be a lot safer, if you catch my drift. So basically I spent the first twelve years of my life growing up as a 'boy'. Of course I knew I really wasn't, it wasn't hard to piece together. It wasn't merely because whenever an attractive male passed me by I couldn't help but stare in appreciation." She smiled sheepishly which made Sasuke's eye twitch involuntarily.

"What? A girl can look; sheesh . . . anyway. Before the old man died he was trying to teach me how to henge. In the event that if something were to happen to the genjutsu, I could correct it quickly. _However, _I kind of . . . took that to a whole new - _mischievous_ - level, as I'm sure you remember."

He rolled his eyes and she continued.

"I basically taught myself how to henge when already henged into something else and then simultaneously hold them both. It was easy with as much chakra as I had, even at that age. So, when the old man died, I was already on my way to meet you and help you with Gaara. I felt the genjutsu lift and before anyone saw me, I henged." She stopped briefly at the memory. "I've henged ever since, to keep my true identity a secret. Of course this was after you took off, but I eventually told Ero-sennin and Tsunade-baa-chan. It wasn't until pretty recently that I decided to sort of 'come out of the closet'. With all the Kyūbi problems behind me, I saw no need to hide it any longer. Though I'm not going to lie; living life as a guy is a _lot _more comfortable."

"Let me get this straight: you're a woman, and always have been. So what was up with that irritating crush on _Sakura-chan?_" Sasuke asked as he made an impression of Naruto at the end.

"'Cause I'm a lesbian." The raven arched a brow and she smirked in amusement. "Honestly, that was the only thing I've ever openly lied about. Everything else was nothing but mischievous me. Heh heh . . ."

"Why didn't you tell Team Seven?" Sasuke asked indignantly.

It made Naruto smile brighter just for the fact that he even brought up Team Seven on his own volition. Sasuke may have changed for the worst at first glance, but deep inside - hell it was even showing now - he was still that scrawny egotistical _bastard_ she knew and loved. It filled her with joy to know that her best friend was slowly coming to terms with things.

Sure it took a war and a few pointless fights, but she still saw Sasuke as Sasuke, and no one could have changed her mind.

"Well, Kaka-sensei knew from the get go. He was my dad's student. Jiraiya knew as well, since he was my dad's sensei, but waited for me to come out with it myself. As for you and Sakura; I didn't think it mattered much. It wasn't going to change anything. I was still me, no matter what gender I was. At times I honestly even forgot I was a girl. I always felt like one of the guys. I never got the appeal in playing with dolls or talking about boys or who my secret crush was. I've never even so much as worn a dress before. I was always more interested in pushing myself to become a better ninja."

She looked away shyly.

"In fact, it was mostly your influence that made me never want to quit trying. All I wanted was a friend and I saw how the other girls treated you and I knew you didn't like it. Hence, I didn't say anything. I felt that it would just make you more uncomfortable. I didn't tell Sakura because back then she was a loudmouth and I just knew that I'd become a target of jealousy."

Sasuke nodded in agreement. He could only imagine the torture she'd put Naruto through if she found out she had to share her dear _Sasuke-kun _with another girl; teammate or otherwise. He'd never understand the certain tendencies women had.

Well, maybe one. But looking at her now, he knew she was one of a kind: a dobe in every way.

"Sorry to interrupt your little _moment _. . ." Suigetsu interjected.

The other two had been so consumed in their own little world that they didn't even notice he'd been listening the entire time.

"BUT I SOOO CALLED IT!" the water-nin exclaimed. "I _knew_ you were hot for a reason! But Sasgay over here-" He thumbed in Sasuke's general direction. "Was just like, "Meh, meh, meh, he's a boooy! He's not a girl! Cause I'm secretly in denial that I'm not gay!" But it all works out! Cause you're a chick and a sexy looking one at that!"

He turned around swiftly.

"So, Sasuke. Your sexuality has been spared! Now you can look back on your spooning session with Blondie over there and not feel so anal!"

Despite the fact that her cheeks were flaming, Naruto busted into a fit of laughter. Sure it hurt her chest and throat, but it was well worth the pain.

"I . . ." She gasped for air as she tried to quell her laughs. Sasuke's expression was of pure mortification; it was utterly priceless. "I'm sorry . . . but who are you again?"

Liquefying, Suigetsu slid on next to her and solidified taking her hand into his. "The name's Hozuki Suigetsu, darling. I'm an Aquarius, single, and can be whoever you want me to be," he replied with a wink of his sparkling lavender eyes.

Sasuke never wanted to punch him in the face more than he did right now, but he settled for a more satisfying approach. As soon as Naruto took her hand back he zapped Suigetsu on the ass with a very mild lightning jutsu; smirking all the while as the water-nin yelped and scowled before stalking off. This seemed to erupt another fit of laughter from Naruto and he really couldn't say he was too unhappy about that.

Clearing the tears from the corner of her eyes Naruto beamed before saying: "Where the hell do you find people like him?"

Sasuke shrugged noncommittally. That was a story for a later date, now it was back to business. Such as, why she was here in the first place. Girl or not, wasn't the case, what was, was that Naruto was still attacked and on the brink of death when they found her.

"So, shenanigans aside, why are you here, Naruto? I know for a fact that you weren't just in the area. You were in uniform and badly injured when we found you floating down the river five days ago."

Her eyes hardened to a steel blue which surprised the raven, but he didn't comment on it.

"I was in Kusagakure on an S-rank mission, the details are classified, but once accomplished my team and I were on our way back to Konoha when we were ambushed by six new Akatsuki members. They managed to separate me from my team and they gave chase until three of the six cornered me on the Tenshi Bridge. I was already dangerously low on chakra and injured from my mission and they knew it. Just as they were about to rush me, I made a call that I felt fit the situation. I downed a suicide pill and plummeted off of the bridge and into the Tenshi river."

Sasuke's jaw clenched as he heard this.

"I knew there was a fifty percent chance that Kyūbi could save me from the pill, but chances were lowered to twenty percent once I hit the water and lowered another ten percent when I hit jagged rocks. It was then that I accepted death as a real possibility."

Sasuke stared a bit before the anger set in. That obligatory feeling from five days ago set in again and he wanted to wring her neck. How could she be so calm about almost getting herself killed? More importantly, the part of him that he banished years ago - that said he cared - came careening back. That sense of protectiveness that Kakashi instilled in his students was all he felt at the moment. How could she be such a dobe? Was she that masochistic that she had no preservation instincts?

"When did you start believing it was ever okay to just throw your life away?"

That seriously struck a nerve and she clenched her hands around the blankets in her lap.

"It probably started right around the time when the only person I cared about was hell bent on killing me on sight! Why the hell would _you _of all people care now?" she retorted, clearly incensed.

Sasuke stilled, unable to find an answer. He honestly didn't know why he chose to care. He just did.

"Again, I'll ask, since we got way off track before. Why did you even bother to save me, Sasuke? This mixed signal bullshit is really becoming old. Aren't you a part of the Akatsuki anyway? The one organization that _kill _people like me?" she spat, her eyes as cold as ice. "Wasn't that your objective? Before you fell off the radar like some fucking phantom?"

An epiphany suddenly struck the raven as he looked at the woman before him.

There were _years upon years_ of pain and suffering spiraling like a hurricane in her eyes and torn expression. He did this. Maybe not all of it, but he knew he caused quite a bit of distress in her life. How many times had he hurt her - mentally or physically? How many times did she cry for him?

Normally this wouldn't have bothered him, but ever since his conversation with Itachi during the war, his perspective changed on some things. Now that he had the chance to stew on all of this, he realized now, exactly what he'd been prepared to do. What he was going to let happen. He _was_ one of those monsters that haunted Jinchūriki in their dreams. No wonder Naruto was so wary. Sasuke had been prepared at one point to hand her over to Madara. She would have been forced to watch who she thought was her best friend, who she trusted with her life, forsake her entirely.

Sasuke felt sick. He was no better than the elders that sentenced his family - his clan - to death. While she was forced to live in fear of - not only herself dying - but watching her friends die, Sasuke was busy taking revenge on the wrong person and then declaring genocide on innocent people. Looking up at his childhood friend; words couldn't' express how torn he was. He must have fit the bill too, because her expression softened considerably.

She bit her lower lip to keep it from trembling and slowly leaned forward, wrapping her arms securely around his neck and waist.

"Forget it . . . it's okay. I know you can't admit what you're feeling, even if it killed you. Seeing your guilty expression was enough for me. Teme."

She sniffled against the stunned boy's shoulder, before giggling slightly.

"The kicked puppy expression that you'll deny later anyway, doesn't exactly suit you, for starters." Gathering his wits about him, he hesitantly held her to him with one arm, scoffing aloud at her comment.

Not hearing Suigetsu or Jūgo enter, the louder of the two broke the silence whilst nudging Jūgo slightly. "I bet you ten dango that the cross dresser and the emo end up together." With a small amused snort Jūgo smiled quietly.

Said duo both tensed and turned sharp glares at the water-nin as they heard his voice.

"You love to spoil a mood don't you, _Kappa-_kun? **(1)**" Naruto retorted as she unwrapped her arms from around the raven boy, stepping back. Said raven snorted in amusement.

"Tch . . . you're just put out because I'm the walking wet-dream you'll never have - quite literally. It's okay that you're settling for Sasuke though. I understand, it's because this beauty-" he said gesturing to all of himself. "-is simply too much for you to handle," he finished with a twirl.

"I hope you spontaneously evaporate," she said with a sneer that the Uchiha next to her was quite proud of.

"Water is a part of the cycle of life, Blondie. You won't be rid of me for long. I just keep coming back for more." He wagged his eyebrows suggestively.

"Hey, Teme. Remind me later to always carry an umbrella." Suigetsu's face faltered a bit. Slightly put-out.

"Hn."

"Great . . . we're back to monotonous syllables again. You were doing so well too," she said rolling her eyes.

**_You should have tried killing yourself years ago; this is entertaining me to no end._**

"Shut up furball! No one asked for commentary from the peanut gallery," she exclaimed suddenly making Sasuke and Suigetsu rubber neck and look at her oddly. "Oh shit . . . I said that aloud, didn't I?"

**_Dumbass . . ._** Kyūbi deadpanned as both boys nodded at her in slight interest.

"Ahem . . . sorry to interrupt, but dinner is ready." The three of them all looked towards the tent entrance, where Jūgo's soft-spoken voice came from. They hadn't even seen him move, and they called themselves elite shinobi?

Kyūbi decided to voice this and Naruto just tuned him out. With a mutter of 'coming' the four were all sitting in front of the campfire - awkwardly. Well, at least Suigetsu wasn't awkward. He was grinning like a fucking shark on crack. He was rather the source making them awkward. Okay, maybe not so much Jūgo. He was always characteristically silent until he snapped, but that was beside the point.

"So Blondie . . . or Tranny, haven't decided what to call you yet, but anyways! When are you gonna throw a shirt on? Not that it isn't hot 'n all, but sheesh, who woulda thought you'd be so open around two strange guys and an emo?" Sasuke was about to electrocute him again, but Naruto was quicker on the draw and somehow whacked him hard on the head without moving a muscle. He took note of the random orange hue around her closed eyes but kept it to himself as he ate.

"To answer your question Kappa-kun, I have no idea where any of my stuff is."

"Damn Sasuke! I know you haven't seen girly-boy over here in years - and all men have needs - but to hoard her clothes?"

That's it, he's getting zapped!

Jūgo and Naruto both picked up on the KI exuding from Sasuke and promptly backed away as lightning was flung in Suigetsu's direction. The water-nin barely had time to take cover.

"Dobe . . . your stuff is in the tent next to my cloak," Sasuke huffed as he resumed eating.

xxx

A little later on Naruto emerged from the tent, clothed from head to foot in a pair of form fitting black shinobi pants that ended at her calf. The standard spare bandages and weapons pouch strapped to her left leg, and a slightly baggy short sleeve orange shirt was covering her torso. Her forehead protector was loosely tied around her neck and sandals covered her feet. Surprisingly, it all was complete with her boyish henge.

She made her way over to the dying campfire and eased her sore body down next to Sasuke. He gave her a once over slightly surprised at what was now considered her henge.

"What's up with the change?" he inquired softly, noting Suigetsu's and Jūgo's sleeping forms. They never really were ones for tents.

"Oh, this?" she hinted to herself and he nodded slightly. "Just thought it was something we could all be comfortable with . . .plus, Suigetsu keeps hitting on me; it's kind of unnerving," she answered and laughed lightly.

"And the clothes?"

"Oh, we had just enough chakra to summon Gamakichi and ask him to bring me a spare set of clothes that I keep on Mount Myoboku for an occasion such as this."

"The royal we?" the rogue-nin mused.

She laughed lightly again. "Nice to see you developed a sense of humor."

"Hardly," he replied with a smirk.

"Naw, I'd say it's a start," she replied thoughtfully. She couldn't believe all this was happening. It was completely unreal. If it weren't for this pain or the fact that she summoned Gamakichi, she'd have believed she actually were dead.

After a few moments of a strangely comfortable silence between them she spoke up again. "Say . . . Sasuke?"

"Hn?"

"About earlier. I was serious when I asked if you were still in-"

"Akatsuki?" he cut in.

"Yeah. You're not . . . right?" she asked with a solemn expression.

"It's a long, convoluted story, but the end result is no, I'm not a part of the Akatsuki," he answered somberly.

"So . . . the cloak?"

"A memento of my brother," he replied in spite of the apparent discomfort this conversation was giving him.

"This too?" she queried, softly touching the necklace around his neck. Surprisingly he wasn't put off by her being overly calm around him. At least Naruto wasn't too touchy. He kind of appreciated her henging for him until he became more comfortable with the idea of her true nature. It was still kind of a shock to him. Who would have thought the dobe was really a girl all along. He wanted to feel like it was a slap in the face to his pride, but he squashed the thought before it came to fruition. Jealousy over power only made him act stupidly. It's that kind of fuel that got him into this mess - power and hatred. He had other things to fret over now.

Realizing he hadn't answered her he nodded in affirmation. "Yes . . . he wanted me to have it."

"Look . . . I understand why you did things the way you did. I don't blame you; I battled with and quelled my own urge for revenge as well. When I finally found out the truth behind your family's massacre, I finally understood. You deserved to be angry. But I will say this: it gave you no right to involve innocent people. There were many lives needlessly thrown away. _That_ is why I can do just the same. It scares me, That self-sacrifice, I think about it every day of my life, but what scares me more is the thought of people like yourself getting hurt because of what I am."

"That's bullshit and you know it. You really think it was reasonable for _you_ to have to live like this? For _you _to die needlessly? It may be your way of saying it's the lesser of two evils, but you're just as irreplaceable as other people."

Tears began to form at the corners of her eyes but she hid them behind her signature Uzumaki smile.

"I don't know what happened to make you have this big of a change of heart, but I wish I were there to see it. You . . . have no idea of how happy it makes me to see that you're . . . _you_ again. Yes you're a prick, yes you're a bastard and yes I know that you hate showing emotions or feeling unguarded. But this passion that you have about you . . . what makes you scream out what your feeling when your pushed too far. That breaking point. It's worth more than a thousand precious words. That's when I know that what your saying is from the heart and what you truly believe. I missed that."

She studied him for a while, before smirking.

"Oh and by the way . . . you're supposed to hide that blush, I'm not supposed to see it, remember? Sheesh . . . " she said while standing back up. "For a guy that likes to brood, you really have a habit of being caught off guard."

She smirked as she turned away. "Goodnight, Teme."

With that she limped her way back into the tent leaving the brooding raven more than flustered. Just as she closed her eyes to fall asleep she heard a distinct "fucking dobe" and smiled serenely.

* * *

AN: (1) Kappa - a famous water monster with a water-filled head and a love of cucumbers. For more info check out Japanese folklore.


	4. Chp 3 Salute Your Solution

**Warning:** Food or drink consumption whilst reading this fan fiction is a health hazard. Ask, _Sachiel Angelo_. (Lawlz :'D)

**Disclaimer:** The song title '_Salute Your Solution' _belongs to the band _The Raconteurs_

_

* * *

_**My Ticket Home**

Chp. **3**

(Salute Your Solution)

By: **OmNomN0mnivore**

Betad by: **MrsHellman**

* * *

For any average Joe, this would have been a normal day in Konoha. The sun shone brightly over its bustling streets and market places. The construction sites were gaining more progress every day. Trades with the other nations were becoming steady again; being allied with the other nations throughout the war was a big factor in that.

From a political standpoint all nations were currently at peace with one another. Mostly because they shared a common enemy, but it was to be debated that they just grew fond of each other. Either way, things appeared to be good. Sai would argue that with every canvas, there had to be a flaw; the flaw being Uchiha Madara and his reinforced-but-still-crumbling organization, Akatsuki.

It was irritating to many shinobi who fought in the war that Madara managed to escape yet again. It was even more infuriating that the target of his goals was still Uzumaki Naruto, the last remaining Jinchūriki. So one could imagine why there was a severe state of unrest regarding shinobi throughout Konoha and Suna – whom all caught wind of the situation – that Naruto was still MIA after seven days of Team Fox returning to the village. There was still no sign of the girl – dead or alive. Saying Sakura was panicked was extremely understated, which led her to the perfect place to vent, Hokage tower.

"Tsunade-sama, with all due respect, I just don't understand why I have to sit here twiddling my thumbs while my best friend is out there probably hurt, or worse," the rosette blurted out, her voice gaining in volume.

"I'll say this again, the answer is _no_," the Hokage replied tersely.

"Why am I so different? You let Naruto run around and play hero all the freaking time. Why is it that when I want to, no, _need_ to save her life for once, you won't let me?" she asked with incredulity.

"_Sakura_," the older woman warned in a commanding tone.

"Yes, Sensei?" she responded to the change in tone and stood rigged, awaiting her orders. She hated the all-powerfulI-am-Hokage-disrespect-me-and-die tone at times like these.

"You are aware, that you, for all intents and purposes, are the _only _remaining member of the original Team Seven. Have you forgotten That I have not only lost one, but both of my teammates as well? Do you honestly think that I cannot relate to your cause? That I am just heartlessly holding you here against your will?"

"N-no, Sensei . . ." Sakura replied, quite taken aback. She hadn't thought about Jiraiya and Orochimaru.

"Sakura . . . look sweetie, I know you love and would do anything for your teammates. I know all too well how the brat's unyielding determination rubs off on people, or how that smile – as bright as the sun – changes lives. If I could, I'd drop everything and personally go and bring her back myself. But I can't. You can't."

Tsunade let the words sink in before she continued in a much quitter voice. "The last person I sent off, thinking he'd be okay, was that pervert Jiraiya. He never came back to me." Sakura's expression softened as the Godaime continued. "I knowingly sent Naruto out on missions, not wanting her to be confined to a life of fear, and look where that eventually led. I'll not send you to your death too. I'll keep you here at all costs," she said firmly. "Let the ANBU search and rescue division do their job. I know they'll find her. I have faith in them. I have faith in _her_. She is alive somewhere. Just trust me."

Sakura sighed in defeat. "Yes, Sensei . . . If I may be excused. I'd like to visit Kaka-sensei in the hospital." The Hokage smiled grimly. Her heart ached for her student. It really did.

"You may go."

Sakura nodded and exited the room, leaving the woman to her thoughts and a full bottle of sake. Clenching her fists she slammed one onto her desk sharply. "_Shit . . . Naruto . . . you better be alive."_

xxx

A few hours later, a thoroughly drunk Tsunade received a report from the ANBU, search and rescue division. A team consisting of Taichou Hyūga Neji and the team members Inuzuka Kiba and Hyūga Hinata stepped into her office. What they had to tell her was nothing good and she wasn't too happy about it. They were her best tracking team and the only other person on par or better than them was none other than Naruto herself – with her nature chakra and Kyūbi's senses – so if even Team Eagle Eye were having problems tracking Naruto, then they were in deep trouble.

"With all due respect Tsunade-sama," Neji finally spoke up after giving her a few minutes to brood drunkenly. He strategically made his way around her broken desk and over large splinters and stood directly in front of her. "I would like to request the help of a specific Chūnin. I think that with her expertise, it could help broaden our search. She also knows more about traveling to other lands and Kusa than we do and I highly believe that Naruto may not even be in Kusa any longer."

Tsunade, in her drunken state, mulled this over slowly. "Who . . . do you have in m-mind?" she slurred out carefully.

Kiba stepped next to Neji and spoke up. "Um, we know that you might not agree, but it's been three and a half years and she checks out. Er, yeah . . . we wanna have Karin help us."

Tsunade's hazel eyes hardened as she thought about the red-headed rogue-nin that they captured some years before.

"Look! I know it sounds crazy, but we could use that talent of hers! The only other person capable of picking up a chakra signature from miles away is Naruto herself. But that's obviously out of the question and Karin doesn't even have to prepare herself, she can use her ability from the get-go," the Inuzuka reasoned.

Tsunade let out a low sigh and the three ANBU in her midst looked hopeful.

"Not only that, but she can also stand in as a medic-nin too. She is too skilled not to use. I know you have her going on small missions and this would technically be the first _real _time in over three years for her to leave Konoha, but, you have us three to keep an eye on her." Neji added and Akamaru barked for emphasis.

"With her skill and Hinata's medic-nin training, they'd make a perfect team," Kiba continued.

Tsunade had to hand it to them, even as drunk as she was, she could tell these kids had thought everything out thoroughly – too thoroughly.

"Nara had a hand in this didn't he?" She eyed them critically. Neji and Kiba smirked as they stood before her and Hinata just blushed and looked away.

"Guilty as charged," Neji replied in slight amusement as Kiba just laughed.

Tsunade huffed and put a hand on her hip as she eyed the three of them. She nodded vaguely to herself; walking around the room in thought. She stopped mid stride and began to pet Akamaru's head absently. It was full proof; Karin was the perfect candidate for the job, there was no denying it. That attitude though . . . and the fact that she was a sound-nin that adored Orochimaru, did not settle well with her. However, as her up and coming adviser, Shikamaru's opinion was well respected. It'd have been a slap in the face to deny his request just because she didn't like the girl he referred.

"SHIZUNE!" she bellowed out, causing Kiba and Hinata to flinch; the brunette muttering curses under his breath.

The spooked medic-nin poked her head into the office cautiously. "Yes, Tsunade-sama?" she asked timidly.

"Send for Karin immediately, there are issues to discuss and stipulations to be made," she replied hastily.

"Y-yes! Right away!" With that the young woman took her leave to send for the rogue-turned-Chūnin. Team Eagle Eye looked thoroughly pleased and a bit more hopeful than they had when they entered the Hokage tower. Tsunade couldn't blame them. She was feeling hopeful as well.

The closer they get to finding Naruto – hopefully alive – the better.

Ten minutes later Karin entered the room giving Shizune a curt but semi polite 'thanks' and turned around to face the Hokage and team Eagle Eye or SRD as they are often referred to as. She was grateful for not being sentenced to death but that didn't mean that she couldn't have little-to-no respect for the Hokage. She was too prideful to be grateful so her initial greeting was not unlike, but a little ruder than Naruto's.

"Hey Hagatha! This had better be fucking important to wake me at one o'clock in the morning." At least Tsunade knew Naruto was playing with her and had revered her in every sense of the word. But this little tramp, not so much.

"I suggest that if you want this S-ranked mission, you had better treat me with more respect you little—"

"Hokage-sama?" Neji said sharply. "The mission?"

"Che . . . yes . . . the mission," she replied eying the sensor-nin critically.

Neji was secretly amused. Having spent more time around Lee ultimately made him spend more time with Sakura too. It wasn't hard to see the similarities between the teacher and student. He only hoped he never lived to see the day that the two demi-god-like women ever fought for real. He didn't think Konoha could take another battle, and with those two, the entire mountainside would collapse – monument and all.

"I assume you've been made aware of the situation?" the Godaime asked in a clipped tone of voice.

"Situation, Oba-sama?" Karin inquired in full business mode. That was about the only trait Tsunade liked about the girl. When it came down to her job, she was excellent and well mannered.

"About a month and eight days ago Team Fox left on an S-ranked mission to Kusa."

"Yeah, yeah, I remember that day. Naruto and I hung out before she left," she replied offhandedly.

Ever since she'd arrived in Konoha she had always been looked after by the Jinchūriki. Not because the sensor was considered dangerous, but because Naruto wanted to be kind and friendly. Through most of the war Karin was contained in a prison cell, but when the heat of the battles had died down, the girl was released on probation and Naruto was the first to open her heart and home to the girl. She helped get the sensor-nin on her feet and never asked questions about her time with Sasuke until Karin herself brought it up. To say the least, they became relatively good friends; one of the few Karin could actually trust. Naruto was honestly the main reason she'd become a Chūnin as quickly as she had.

Tsunade continued and hence ripped Karin out of her thoughts. "It was brought to my attention that Team Fox had just wrapped up their mission and were headed home. However they were intercepted by the Akats—"

"What? Intercepted how? I just saw Sakura and Sai earlier this week, where is Naruto? Don't think I haven't noticed that the loud mouth isn't around!" Karin interrupted her in a tempered tone.

"Let me finish before you start ranting, damn you!" Tsunade barked back. Karin pursed her lips tightly and gave a noncommittal nod. "As I was saying before you rudely interrupted: Team Fox was intercepted by the Akatsuki and separated. Sakura and Sai tried their best the relocate Naruto but it was already too late. By then the Akatsuki had made a great deal of distance between the split team. Naruto has been MIA for the last eight days. There has been no sign of her anywhere in Kusa."

Karin tensed; her expression tight. How could they lose someone with chakra as potent and warm as Naruto's? Shouldn't there have more of a sign?

"Our team," Neji began, "has not yet located her. We went as far as the Tenshi Bridge but her scent seemingly disappeared in crossing. We have reason to believe she was abducted and transported elsewhere, or that they . . . fulfilled their intentions," he said, but the broke off, the words dying on his tongue.

"There was a heavy scent of blood in the area," Kiba finished for him reluctantly, also not quite voicing what the five of them in the room dreaded most.

"That Karin, is w-where you c-come in," Hinata said finally speaking up. "We r-requested that you help us. T-that is to say if you want to. We could really use the h-help," the raven said as her voice was knocked down a few notches.

"No!" Tsunade said tersely. "There is no option here. Karin, you will help them. This is a mission; one where the stakes are too high. If Naruto is in fact alive and has been captured by the enemy, her death could be the downfall of us all as we know it. Madara only thinks of her as a weapon and _will _extract Kyūbi. If that happens Madara will have all that he needs to resurrect the Jūbi and use his ultimate Sharingan technique."

"Sheesh, no need to make her sound so fucking important," the only red-head in the room scoffed jokingly. "I'll go. It'd be against my better judgment if I didn't."

Kiba and Neji smirked despite themselves. Despite her joke, what Karin said was true; here they were fretting over the little blond dobe that nobody used to give two shits-less about. It was ironic that she held their very lives in the balance. Bet the elders were turning in their self-induced graves.

Tsunade nodded with a smirked of determination. "Right. You all leave in six hours. That'll be enough time to prepare yourselves for what might be a long mission ahead of you. If need be, anyone else that you see fit to help, if they're not already onboard a mission, you may make use of them. Dismissed. "

"Yes, Hokage-sama!" they all said in unison and set off to prepare.

"Shizune." The young woman standing in silence by the office door perked up.

"Tsunade-sama?" she replied quietly.

"Please send word to Shikamaru that he needs to go to Suna and set up an audience with Gaara and his councilmen. Tell him that we need to prepare for the worst, even if it doesn't come to pass. He'll know what else to do."

" Of course," she replied and turned away. "Oh, and Tsunade-sama?" she began again; shifting in her stance she turned and smiled brightly at the older woman. "I'll have Yamato-san make you another desk!"

Tsunade snorted as she looked at the wreck before her. She smiled despite herself. "Thank you Shizu. . ."

With a smile the young woman took her leave.

xxx

Sakura was antsy. She still hadn't heard anything back from anyone yet. She'd been at the hospital making rounds all day and helping in any way she possibly could to keep herself busy; occasionally stepping into Kakashi's room at random intervals. She supposed doing that only made her feel gloomier, but she always felt that he had the best advice. Even if he couldn't respond, he could listen just the same.

Her mind wandered from Naruto's disappearance, to the day Kakashi was admitted here. It was nearly a year ago . . .

She wanted to feel guilty, but she couldn't help but feel grateful. It was nearing the end of the major battle and Madara was getting impatient. He chose this time to take matters into his own hands and claim Naruto himself. Sakura and Naruto were currently engaged in battle with about twenty Zetsu's and Madara used this too his advantage. He'd literally appeared out of nowhere and the battle was turned upside down and switched to Sakura trying to defend Naruto while the girl was being stubborn and acting as back up.

Desperate the Uchiha resorted to using his Space–Time Migration Technique and tried sucking the Jinchūriki into another dimension that only he could access. If Kakashi were to have arrived a second later, Naruto would have been captured and the end result would have been death. Kakashi just in the nick of time, used his own Mangekyo Sharingan to counter the attack. No one knew what happened, but it ultimately led to Madara's retreat and Kakashi's Sharingan induced coma.

He should have known this would happen, it always did; just never quite this bad.

So here he was nearly a year later, in a hospital bed, with no change. Sakura was sure that it'd take a Sharingan expert to figure out what was wrong with him. Those, however, were hard to come by and every Uchiha aside from the sociopath and the rogue were dead. At this rate, Kakashi might never wake up.

Sakura wiped furiously at the tears gathering in her sea foam eyes. She really wished Naruto were here. No matter how tactless and silly she could be, the girl always knew the right thing to do or say. That, and she gave to best hugs.

Smiling sadly at the thought Sakura exited the hospital through the main entrance, only to be bumped into and tackled by a giant dog seconds later. Sputtering as the giant dog licked the side of her face she growled for Kiba to help her out. He responded by laughing annoyingly and whistling for Akamaru to come back to his side. He hauled her off of the pavement and smirked broadly.

"C'mon, we're leaving!"

"H-huh? What the hell are you talking about Inuzuka?" She was thoroughly confused as she wiped the dog slobber off of her face.

"I'm a part of the ANBU SRD unit, remember? We have permission to take whoever the hell we want on the mission to bring Naruto back!" Sakura's eyes widened as big as saucers. "So c'mon Pinky! We gotta high tail it outta here soon. Go pack your crap and let's go."

She nodded dumbly before asking "Why? I was told by Tsunade directly that I wasn't supposed to leave."

"Psh . . . Yer a medic, DUH! You are invaluable as a teammate. Plus I'm sure you'll pull your pretty pink hair out if you weren't in on the action. Tsunade can bitch all she wants but she gave us the permission to take anyone we wanted who wasn't already on the mission board. Hell, we're even baby-sitting Karin, there's no way with all of us who are going that you'd be in any danger."

"Karin, huh? Wow . . . why didn't we think of that sooner?"'

Kiba shrugged. "'Cause none of us are as on top of it as Shikamaru?"

Sakura gave him a charming smile and hugged him. "This is great! You're the best Kiba!"

"H-hey now! My girlfriend won't be too happy with me if you're getting too friendly."

"Oh shut up! Hinata's the sweetest girl I've ever met and she knows me, dumbass!"

"She sure is. Now let's get a move on!"

"Wait. Who else is going besides your team, Karin, and myself?" she asked curiously.

"Well, were splitting into two groups. It'll all be discussed more later, but you and Karin are coming with us and Ino, Hanabi, Ten Ten, Lee and Sai are going in another group. We woulda had Shika and Choji join us, but they're leaving for Suna."

Sakura nodded. "Alright we meet at the north gate?"

"Right. In two hours, now move!"

With one goal set in mind the two shinobi took their leave.

xxx

_8 days . . ._ Naruto pondered. _Everyone in the village must be going out of their minds trying to find me. _

She sighed to herself. It was about half past three in the morning and everyone was asleep. Or, rather, Sasuke was pretending to sleep and making it look good. It didn't matter to her much as she stepped into the river. It was nearing September so it wasn't too cold per say, but the water wasn't warm either.

She shivered despite herself. _Oh well . . . it's now or never, and I say now. Cause if I bathe later I just know that that perverted Kappa-freak is going to make some lewd comment. Sheesh, probably grew up as a spawn in some freaky lab, never having seen a woman before. _At least with Sasuke, he had the decency to look away or keep his eyes closed at least . . . she hoped. Ah hell, who was she kidding? It's not like they haven't seen each other naked before. Well . . . then again, it was never like _this_ – mentally gesturing to her female body.

She walked along to the edge of the bank, just far enough to bathe in privacy, but not too far that the raven haired boy would freak out. Her bare toes felt oddly comfortable in the soft sand. The water wasn't too bad after all, she decided.

Walking further up the bank she stripped herself of everything but her slightly long baggy tank top which ended mid-thigh. Pulling her thigh-length golden-blond hair free from its single ponytail she let it cascade down her back and splay around her thin frame. Stretching, she removed her shirt and dirty bandages and stepped into the water. She started to swim around a bit to warm herself up.

She sighed in slight contentment as the water came up to her nose where she stood; her hair floating around her like a golden shoal. Her body was still too sore to do much else than tread water.

_Damn poison._

**_Tch . . . and whose fault was that, again?_**

_Yours._

**_How the fuck do you figure that, you insolent brat?_**

_It's because of you, that I'm in this mess at all. You are who the Akatsuki are really after, essentially._

Kyūbi was silent for a moment as if considering this. Reluctantly he muttered a 'touché'.

_That's right, can't argue with the facts, now can you?_

**_That may be so, but at least I was never crazy enough to poison myself _****and_ jump off a bridge. Tch . . . you and that Uchiha-brat are perfect for each other, with how emo that was._**

_God, what is it with you and Sui-Kappa! _Kyūbi snorted in amusement at the new nickname.

**_Nothing we just know the two of you have been in denial for years. I'm fairly positive that even if you _****were _a guy, that Sasuke kid would fuck the shit out of you eventually . . ._**

_KYUUBI!_

**_What? I call it as I see it. Can you really deny that you feel anything more than friendship for the kid?_**

_Stay the hell out of my non-existent-love-life you old pervert!_

**_Seeeee, you didn't deny it. You can't lie if it were to save your life, even to yourself._**

_Tch . . . if you hadn't noticed I didn't ever confirm it either, Hentai._

**_You didn't have to, because you just did it now. You even being slightly defensive about this subject matter suggests that you feel more for him than friendship in some way. Whether it be flaming love or just a quick fuck. You feel more than you let yourself know._**

Naruto was silent, mulling this over. He had a point. Her friendship with Sasuke always seemed a little more _intense _than the ones she shared with, for example, someone like Kiba or Shikamaru and Chōji. Hell, she didn't even fail to see the potential she had with Gaara. They too, were pretty damn close, but it was nothing like Sasuke. Her whole life's ambition, not counting wanting the title of Hokage, has been all about Sasuke and bringing him home. Home for what exactly? She was shocked. When did this stop being about Sakura and what she wanted? When did it start being something Naruto herself truly desired?

Sure back before he defected, she'd craved to be recognized as an equal by him, but did it really run deeper than that? She had to admit, wanting or needing to find him became a bit of an obsession. As it seemed that everything was coming together in her head, she realized that each time she ran into the rogue-nin, and saw firsthand how powerful he'd become, it strived to make her to try even harder.

It was like a game of tag and Sasuke knew the rules. She just followed him blindly – blind determination; but determination for what? What was this all about anymore? Hell, she'd even resolved herself to want to die with him.

**_Are you _****that_ blind to not see that you could be in love with him? You may not be vocal or boisterous about broadcasting it, but it is there. And don't you dare blame it hormones, you're not a prepubescent teenager anymore. You have just always left this undefined. There was never any reason to give it a name; as long as it was there, between the both of you. Like some kind of shared secret. Sickening really, _**the demon fox scoffed.

He may not have been the best love guru in the world, but it was plain as day. His host was so annoyingly naïve at times. It made him want to pull his fur out.

Naruto's body was slightly quivering but it wasn't from the cold. It was something much more powerful. It was the 'L word'. Something she could have sworn would never occur in her life. She felt like even asking for the recognition she had was enough. She loved everyone she knew for that. It'd saved her; but this 'L' thing . . . that just didn't happen to someone like her. Sure, it stood to reason that yes, her own mother was a Jinchūriki, but her father was a special case. He was the sweetest man she'd met or heard of. He revered Uzumaki Kushina as she did him in return. For Naruto, Sasuke . . . her best friend he may be, but he'd never given any woman the time of day, why should she be any different?

This was enough. Sure, maybe Kyūbi was right, maybe she did indeed love him, but the facts remained the same. She could cope with that; just knowing that he cared enough about her to be her friend. To, hopefully not change his mind again and try to smoother her with a pillow in her sleep. That thought scared her more than Akatsuki ever could. He was literally on the home front of her unguarded heart. If he were to betray her now, she knew she'd never be able to recover from it. Not this time.

**_Are you okay?_**

Sheesh, why was it that even when the fox was being semi-sweet, he still sounded completely pissed off. What a crab-ass.

_Yeah. I'm okay. It's just a lot to take in, you know? _

**_I don't. But for the sake of the moment, let's say I did._**

She sighed heavily. _Well, can't say you didn't try._

"Dobe."

She was then pulled from her mindscape and blinked at the raven standing on the bank with something white under his arm. Totally forgetting to find this awkward, she didn't even bother to cover herself. She had water up to her head after all, it being too dark anyway. "Yeah, Teme?"

"Suigetsu will be waking up soon. I suggest that if you want any of your pride intact later on, you'd be wise to finish."

"Why, you jealous, Teme? Don't want fish-boy to see me in my womanly glory?" she teased.

"Just hurry up dead-last," he replied curtly, tossing what she assumed was a towel onto her clothes on the bank. He lazily walked back to the campsite.

Yeah, she could do this friend thing. The 'L word' only made things more complicated. She was content for now.

Making her way out of the water she quickly dried herself off, dressed and made her way back to the campsite. Taking a seat next to him in front of the camp fire she continued to dry her long hair. "Sasuke, where are we anyway? I was thinking to myself earlier that everyone in Konoha must have blown a blood vessel or two because I've been missing for so long."

This was the conversation that Sasuke came to dread; the topic of her leaving. He wasn't getting attached to the thought of her being here, no that wasn't quite it. It was more or less that obligated feeling again. He didn't know why – and didn't know how – but he just couldn't bear the thought of her leaving by herself; not when the Akatsuki were bearing down her back and harming her every chance they got. Plus, he just really didn't want Madara to take over the world as he knew it. It was one of the many things, not on his agenda.

"We're about two days west of Oto, in the Akatsuki territory. If you were thinking about leaving, it'd likely be suicide."

**_Hey! There's your chance, just get it right this time. When attempting suicide, you must squash all chance of survival, you failure._**

_Blow me, _she bit back in irritation.

"However, the boarder to Fire Country is pretty close. If you were to stay on board with us, and travel into Oto, we could drop you off at the Valley of the End and you could make it the rest of the way to Konoha semi-safely. At least in your homeland, you have an advantage of sorts."

"You'd do that for me?" she asked in slight surprise. He looked bored, but she could tell he was sincere. Or, as sincere and Sasuke got anyway.

"I don't see why not. It's not as if it's any further out of the way for us. If you're right and Konoha is in an uproar, I'm sure you'd catch up with someone you know on your way through."

She gave him a tight smile. "And . . . there's no way I can convince you to come with me?" He actually surprised her with a small sad smile.

"No. We have business elsewhere." She visibly faltered.

"In Oto?" she asked to confirm.

"In Oto," he replied. "Let's just say, I have a few bones to pick with Kabuto. The last I heard, he was roaming around there somewhere. No doubt, probably seeking refuge in one of Orochimaru's many hideouts and safe houses."

"I see. This is about Itachi being brought back with the Impure World Resurrection Technique, isn't it?"

"More or less."

"Hmm . . . Well when you get a hold of him; give him a swift kick in the balls for me. That son of a bitch really hurt Tsunade-baa-chan and a lot of my friends as well. Normally I'd feel a slight hint of mercy, but that asshole deserves what's coming to him. Digging up the bodies of our loved ones . . . how sick is that? That grave robbing dick face . . . urgh he makes me sick."

"My sentiments exactly. I'm sure that if the remains weren't cremated, he'd have resurrected the entire Uchiha clan."

Naruto blinked. She hadn't thought about that. "Oh . . . I'm sorry. How could someone be so heartless? Even Madara's personal cause isn't as heartless and emotionally damaging as that had been." Sasuke nodded blankly. After a few moments of silence, Naruto spoke up again. "You know, I ran into Itachi on the battlefield."

Sasuke looked up and locked eyes with her, the interest and curiosity apparent in his inky pools. "Yeah . . . it was funny. Well funny-weird actually. First he was trying to attack me for all he was worth, but I knew he was dead . . . because, he had no eyes. Yet, he seemed to _know_ it was me." Sasuke cocked his head to the side in question.

"Well . . . anyway, he asked me to restrain him and feed chakra between our linked hands. As odd as the request was, I did it anyway. Anyhow, when I did, gross as it sounds, this huge ass raven came crawling up my throat and out of my mouth. I swear I tasted feathers for a week. Ahem . . . but yeah . . . that's beside the point. Well after this happened I remembered that this was the same raven he'd stuffed down my throat when we met in the middle of the forest, randomly, when he was alive. Knowing this, I looked up to see he'd consumed the raven and no shit, the guy had eyes again. It was wicked creepy! He was also able to move on his own again. Total zombie status . . . er . . . no offense. But yeah, then in this really broody tone – that you guys like to share or something – he thanked me and said he had business to take care of and took off."

Sasuke was a little weirded out by her recap, but was still morbidly curious to confirm that he'd heard her right the first time. "So. You're saying that when my brother was alive. He met up with you in a random forest and shoved a 'bird' down your throat? As if he hadn't anything better to do?" _He must have had a reason for leaving a bit of his chakra with her, _he mused quickly.

"That's just about the gist of it." She blinked and cocked her head cutely.

"Somehow, I think people fighting for animal rights would disapprove of your treatment with animals," Suigetsu barked from behind her, clearly awake now.

Naruto hadn't even realized it was dawn as her head nearly did a one-eighty.

"GAH! Don't do that, you fucking creep! You scared the shit out of me!" she wailed as she stood up swatting at him. He just stared at her resignedly as her hand hit nothing but liquid. "EW! Fucking gross!"

"You . . . your . . . uugh, technically a part of you is on my hand," she moaned and looked from her hand and him back and forth, clearly disturbed. Sasuke snorted and then leered as Suigetsu got closer to her.

"You know, Sugar, that's not the only part of me that could be on you," he said as he took hold of a beet-red Naruto's hand. "Just say the word and I'll rock your world so—"

"Finish that sentence and I'll fucking obliterate you," Sasuke snapped with a slight growl as he looked ready to charge up a Chidori with Suigetsu's name on it. Naruto jumped slightly at the killer intent wafting off of Sasuke in waves.

"Ah-heh-he . . . " Suigetsu laughed nervously and gulped. "Right, you're the boss. And she's your girl. No touchy, touchy. Got it," Suigetsu said as he tossed Naruto's hand away as if it were poisonous.

The blonde could tell already, that this was going to be the two longest days of her life.

* * *

AN: A special thank you to all of my readers and those anon. readers I cannot reply to.

You guys are the best!

-Nomy


	5. Chp 4 The Family Disease

**Disclaimer:** The song title '_The Family Disease_' belongs to the band _Oceana_.

AN: Sorry for the wait! I ended up getting sick and my daughter was a high priority the rest of the time. lol I hope you all had a wonderful Valentines day. I made this chapter a bit fluffy for that reason! :'D

Enjoy!

-Nomy

* * *

**My Ticket Home**  
Chp. **4**  
(**The Family Disease**)  
By:** OmNomN0mnivore**  
Betad by: **MrsHellman**

* * *

The air was dank and electrified. This was common for Amegakure. The streets were usually flooded with endless puddles. Rain always fell from the broken sky like tears in this village. This seemed to be to Uchiha Madara's liking; this was the place where the Akatsuki was birthed from the pain of three orphans and a conniving vector, who fed into that pain.

Even with the comfortable atmosphere of the original Akatsuki hideout, Madara tapped his index finger against the makeshift throne he was perched on; growing more irritated by the minute. The pawn before him was rattling off some sob-story about how he'd failed him epically. He was growing bored and angry. This sad son of a bitch actually had the audacity to come crawling back after a blunder like this? He sure was brave; or suicidal, either way, it didn't matter. Madara was about to kill him.

"We finally had the Jinchūriki cornered but it seemed that she had probably submitted to the inevitable . . . because she . . . killed herself."

Madara stilled and peered up at the apparently startled man; a vicious anger coursing through his visible Sharingan eye.

"Repeat that." It was a statement, masked as a question. The man before him trembled and reiterated his statement.

"S-she – the Jinchūriki that is – took a suicide pill and threw herself off of the bridge. My team and I couldn't keep track of her body. The c-current of the river below was too swift, Uchiha-sama."

"You realize," he began in a clipped tone. His face contorting maliciously from behind it's mask, "that it is a physical impossibility for Jinchūriki to kill themselves."

"Uhm . . . all due respect, but she was already so weak, there was no way any person could have survived that!" he pled fruitlessly. Sweat dripped down his neck as he bit back a gulp of terror at the killing intent wafting throughout the room.

"A Jinchūriki is what?" the raven haired man asked monotonously.

"A-a demon-cont-t-tainer, Uchiha-sama."

"That is correct. Now, tell me where your judgment had flawed," he conceded silkily.

"T-the d-demon wouldn't let its host d-die? Uchiha-sama?"

"Therefore you let a perfect opportunity to capture the only remaining Jinchūriki just _slip_ through your fingers," the Uchiha deadpanned; Sharingan spinning wildly from behind his masked face. "So my question for you is: what shall be the consequence of this . . . debauchery?"

The man was quaking all over; eyes wild with fear and remorse for his existence. Madara to – say the least – was pretty delighted by this. It did wonders to relieve his fury.

"I . . ." he began before faltering.

"Kill them," the Akatsuki mastermind stated offhandedly.

The man's eyes widened further; if possible. "U-uchiha-sama?"

"You heard me. Kill them. Your incompetent teammates," he clarified with nonchalance. The other five Akatsuki recruits all tensed in mortification; whispers of disgust and revulsion spreading like wildfire. Twelve Zetsu's chose this time to guard all the exits with sick satisfaction.

The man before him shivered involuntarily. "B-but—"

"Did I stutter? I most certainly thought I had been clear. All you pathetic excuses for humans have done was disappoint me. The lot of you do not deserve to wear the cloak of Akatsuki. For your defiance and sheer stupidity, you shall kill your teammates in cold blood, because if _I_ have to be the one to do it, it'll be more than just death that I'll sentence them to." His visible eye seemingly shined redder and more malicious than before.

The man knew Madara was serious. There were things the Uchiha could do to them that were more unholy than what he was currently steeling himself to do. Death would be a justice for them. Having resigned himself, he took a hesitant step toward his terrified team.

All that could be heard from the high-rise-hideout were screams of agony and despair from all six of the recruits.

Once the appointed captain was through with killing his kin, he'd been forced into an Izanagi. After twenty minutes of torture which was the equivalent to twenty years for the victim, Madara grew bored and slit the mans throat.

Wiping his bloodstained hands across his ominous Akatsuki cloak, Madara stepped over the body and situated himself comfortably in his previous seat.

"Zetsu," the Uchiha called out calmly, causing the original plant-esque man to perk up. Zetsu had his counter parts phase into the floor. "We're going to need a new batch of Akatsuki recruits," he finished; morbid amusement burning in his voice.

With a snort from black Zetsu, the original followed the example of his counter parts and seemingly dissolved into the floor, leaving the enraged Uchiha to himself. Killing that man was nothing to him. However, he couldn't afford another blunder like this one. He needed something more than just pawns. He needed people that could actually get the job done.

It was then that a sinister idea stirred to life. He'd definitely need Kabuto for this.

xxx

There was a storm brewing.

The air was tense and muggy; the cumulous clouds hanging heavy overhead – like puffy marshmallows – would make Shikamaru sigh in utter contentment. This thought didn't ease any of the Hokage's tension however, this just fueled the suffocating dread she'd been feeling with each passing day that Naruto wasn't home.

She had total faith in the teams she'd sent out early that morning, but having faith left room for some doubt; thus was with all emotions. Trust hid fear, love hid hate, and so forth. Tsunade tried her best to persevere and keep a positive outlook. At a time like this, she was astounded at how the blond brat of a shinobi ever managed to keep her cool; so collected, understanding and ever the martyr. Naruto's unyielding faith is what was keeping the Hokage from tarring a hole in the walls that house her.

_Lead by example_, Tsunade repeated to herself for the umpteenth time. It was becoming mantra.

Staring out her office window she let out a long sigh; she had a village to run; she couldn't keep this up for long. Paperwork kept piling up on her desk. It'd take days to get done and yet here she was, pacing and staring at nothing and everything; perking up at every blond head that wandered around the village; only to be let down.

"-nade-sama?" A voice cut into her musings.

"Hmm?" She finally turned around and noticed a concerned expression on Shizune's face.

"Tsunade-sama, I've called you three times, are you okay?" Shizune continued, her voice wavering slightly.

"I'm fine, really," Tsunade replied – harsher than she intended.

Shizune didn't seem put out by this at all and rebounded quickly. "I can help you with some of this, if you want?" she offered, gesturing to the four stacks of papers piled neatly on Tsunade's new desk.

The piles were quite impressive to say the least. Shizune cringed at the thought of how long it'd take the older woman to complete them.

Tsunade gazed forlornly at the imposing stacks. She really was getting too old for this. Sure, she may not look a day over thirty, but she'd be hitting 57 soon enough.

_I wonder how Sarutobi-sensei managed all of this at his ripe old age?_ she mused to herself. The thought of turning 70 made her shudder involuntarily. _Che . . . then I really will be an old hag . . ._

"Damn brat . . . urgh." And there went her thoughts; spiraling right back to Naruto. Only that little punk could get away with calling her old. Sure, it pissed her off, but, after a while it became almost endearing. It was the way she showed she cared. It was their banter.

Looking back at Shizune who was giving her a questioning look, Tsunade realized that she'd forgotten to reply. "Sorry, I was thinking. I'd really appreciate it if you did." She gave a tight smile; trying her best to sound sincere. Though honestly, Shizune couldn't blame her. She knew all too well, that the older woman wanted to hand over her title to her loyal successor. It was a given. Everyone who was familiar with the Hokage's personal files knew that Naruto was in fact named successor on paper; legal and binding. Still, everyone also knew that Naruto was still a bit too young. Sure, Minato wasn't even thirty before he became Hokage, but at least he'd been over twenty. An age that Naruto still had two months to go before she reached.

This struck a cord in Shizune. She thought of Naruto as a little sister. It was a depressing thought really. Naruto was only nineteen; still just a kid and yet, here she was, missing. No one knew if she were dead or alive.

As Shizune looked up at her longtime friend and role-model, teacher and consult, she saw just how aged she was beginning to look. Shizune knew then, that Tsunade wasn't just thinking about Naruto, but also of Nawaki and Dan.

"I'll get started right away. I'll take two stacks, and you take the other two. Anything of importance I'll have ran by you post haste." As Tsunade nodded Shizune gave her a reassuring smile. "You should really resign when she gets home. Or at least take a vacation. I think the land of Tea misses the Legendary Sucker!" Shizune continued with a laugh. It was just what the older woman needed; subtle reassurance, and boy did it work.

"Che. You just wait! I'll win the big one next time and I'll be swimming in so much sake that you won't know what to do with yourself!" Although the reply was indignant, Tsunade took the reassuring gesture hook-line-and-sinker. Taking the paperwork, one stack at a time, Shizune made her way out of the office to resume her duties.

"Sometimes, even the Hokage needs a little looking after, isn't that right, Shizune?" Tsunade said mostly to herself in the empty room; continuing to look off at the darkening clouds beyond the trees.

"Indeed. A storm is definitely brewing."

xxx

"You know, Hōzuki means fruit. You a fruit Suigetsu-kuuuuun?" Naruto mocked, letting her left brow arch challenging.

Said male snorted. "Says the one who said she was a lesbian," the water-esque boy retorted making Naruto glare at him.

"Ever heard of sarcasm?"

"Santa Claus isn't real."

"Fuck you—and no. Don't you dare make a sexual comment about that." A laugh was all she got back; however, it didn't take long before their banter was back on track once more. And it kept on going; and going.

And going.

"I'm telling you we're lost, you stupid kappa!" Naruto exclaimed in exasperation for the umpteenth time.

Team Taka and their guest all decided unanimously that it'd be wise to ride out the storm in more 'sturdy' shelter – i.e. the river flooded over. They were about a day away from The Valley of the End and were currently in a good size town on the boarder of the Akatsuki lands and Oto.

"I don't even understand how we got separated from the teme and Jūgo anyway!"

Suigetsu didn't seem to be bugged about being lost at all. In fact, he seemed rather pleased with himself.

Little did she know, Suigetsu had actually planned this little deviation for a few good reasons.

Reason 1) Naruto was fun to flirt with and just too easy to pick on (Like a certain redhead he knew). Reason 2) Sasuke was_ really_ amusing when pissed off. His jealousy was clear, whether he realized it himself or not. Finally, reason 3) He'd heard that his beloved Samehada was lurking around Oto somewhere – whether Naruto remembered or not – this girl had the Kyūbi. Thus granting her Kyūbi's senses and with a sword that had as much chakra as the Samehada had, it'd be impossible for her not to feel it nearby. Sure, if he weren't so lazy he could probably find it alone, but then it'd conflict with reasons 1 and 2 of his devious plan. Thus it was better to use her to his advantage.

"Psssh, who wants to hang out with a crabby bastard anyway? I recall a certain_ poisoned_ someone saying that they'd give a limb to get out of bed and walk around. I also recall said someone saying that a certain Teme was being a tyrant bastard, by keeping that someone confined to the tent for six days."

"So I hate being coddled, sue me!" she retorted perturbed.

"You call Sasuke threatening to break your legs if you got out of bed, coddling?" he replied skeptically. Amusement alight in his lavender eyes. "I'd hate to see what you thought a romantic conversation would be like, coming from him."

This made the blond burst out into laughter. "I'm sorry; romance has got to bed the last thing on Sasuke's 'agenda', as he put it."

"You'd be surprised," he replied honestly, but masked it as teasing.

"Whatever you say," Naruto replied in disbelief. They were nearing a dango shop when both of their stomachs growled involuntarily. Looking at one another they both exchanged a nervous laugh.

"Wanna grab a bite?" Suigetsu suggested.

"Meh, why not. I'm starving," Naruto replied.

The both of them were practically salivating whilst awaiting their dango and miso pork ramen combo. As they sat down in a booth Naruto decided to deadpan him. "So what about you, prince charming. I'm sure that I'm not all you fantasize about."

The male smirked. "There's just something about a _cocky_ woman that gets the blood pumping, if you catch my drift," he retorted suggestively.

"Dude, first off, gross; secondly, I'm not a fucking tranny, for the last time. Now answer the damn question."

"Why do you want to know?" Suigetsu asked in honest curiosity.

"I just want to confirm something is all. Harmless I swear," she replied with a smirk.

"Confirm what exactly?" the water-esque nin asked apprehensively. He knew the blond well enough by now, that smirking meant that she was up to something.

"I'm friends with Karin," she began. "After Sasuke decided she was a sacrificial lamb – as he does with most women; myself unfortunately included – she was arrested and placed in protective custody in the leaf village for a year or so. When she got out, I took her in. Sure she was bitchy and moany and guy crazy – she even hit on me once when I was henged. Talk about awkward. But anyway, she spoke of you often; more than Sasuke. In fact I kinda think she hates him."

Suigetsu was not expecting that, if his blush were anything to go by. Karin spoke of him? She expressed hate for Sasuke? Not possible.

"You're lying."

Naruto's nose scrunched in distaste. "Never. According to Kyūbi I couldn't lie my way out of a paper bag."

_**That's for damn sure,**_ the fox muttered almost sleepily. Could he even get tired?

"Karin could never hate Sasuke. The guy is like, her sex idol, or something," the white haired boy argued, taking a bite out of three dango at once.

Slurping at her ramen, Naruto snorted and replied. "Y'know, call me crazy, but a knife through the gut would make any woman take the hint. She's still bitter about that, by the way."

"Tch . . . you really must be suicidal then. How many times have you chased after the guy and narrowly escaped with your life?" This earned him an icy glare, but he really couldn't care less.

"My actions were necessary," she replied coldly.

"Chasing an S-ranked missing ninja across Kami's green creation was necessary?" he challenged. It seemed as if Naruto would be easier to get to realize her feelings for the raven; it was only a matter of setting her up. She may have been dense but she was quite quick on the draw most times.

"Yes, I had my reasons," she said defensively.

"Which were . . . ?" he pushed, arching an eyebrow.

"He was my best friend and Sakura-chan loved him, she wanted him home. I gave her my word, that I'd drag him back; even if I had to break every bone in his body!"

"Wait. So, let me get this straight. You went after a guy, you clearly like, for another woman? Your competition at that?"

Suigetsu knew he'd struck a nerve when she'd pushed her ramen away; staring at him with hard cerulean eyes.

"Who the hell are you to criticize when you can't even gather the balls enough to claim the woman you love, when she clearly loves you back?" Suigetsu went rigid in his seat and eyed the blond levelly as she continued. "Sure, you guys clearly have a fucked up . . . something, or other, but even I know that it's enough to build off of."

Suigetsu sighed. He wasn't expecting the tables to turn. It was clearly bad timing on his part, when Sasuke chose this time to walk into the small shop, expression as blank as ever.

"Ne, Sasuke, your confused girlfriend over here got me lost and is now picking on me!" he whined with a slight pout.

"Hn," Sasuke snorted, clearly not interested. His mind was busy with other things.

"Why you little . . . it's your fault we got lost!" Naruto replied defensively.

"Ooooh, you didn't deny the girlfriend part," Suigetsu cooed.

"Dobe. Kappa," Sasuke began as Naruto was about to retort. She soon smirked, however. It appeared that even the normally jokeless; stoic; Uchiha had taken a likening to the water-nin's newly dubbed nickname. Naruto had the satisfaction to revel in sweet victory before being chastised herself. "I quite frankly couldn't care less who started what. What does piss me off is the fact that you've both blundered around and have wasted my time having to look for you."

The two culprits just looked off in opposite directions, scoffing like the brats they were being. Sasuke wanted to roll his eyes but thought against it. "Now if you two children are finished, I'd much rather get back to the inn before the storm picks up again."

"Tch . . . a little water never killed anyone." Suigetsu scoffed; picking at his teeth with his dango skewer absently.

"Except for your sanity," Naruto muttered under her breath. Suigetsu moaned. "But you know," she continued with a stronger voice, "not all people are a walking/talking puddle, Kappa-kun."

"No one asked you, Tranny."

"For the last time I'm not a transvestite!"

"Whatever you say girly-boy; I'm outta here. Ja ne." Suigetsu practically leaked onto the ground and flowed out of the dango shop, making Naruto shudder involuntarily. Sasuke took note of this and snorted at her reaction in subtle amusement.

"If you're done here, Dobe, I'd like to leave now."

"Yeah, yeah . . . check please!" she called out to the woman behind the counter.

The woman walked up with the bill; smiling Sasuke's way in a sultry manner. Naruto was pretty irritated by this.

_Stupid banshees, looking at the Teme like he's a piece of meat for sale on the black market._ She heard Kyūbi snort in mild amusement as she pulled out her frog coin purse. Looking down at the bill her eyes widened considerably. Naruto knew she'd eaten a lot but not that much!

"What the hell?" she grumbled looking up at the waitress whom was still making eyes at the teme beside her; which made her even more irritated. "Why is my bill so high?"

This seemed to snap the young woman out of her dark eyed/dark haired fantasy. "Hmm? Oh!" she exclaimed with a timid smile. "You're white haired friend told me that he'd pay for his meal on your tab," she stated in a manner of fact.

Naruto blinked.

Then blinked some more.

Her eye twitched involuntarily as she stared blankly at the fan girlish waitress. This amused Sasuke to no end. The cogs in Naruto's mind had apparently rusted over and then kicked back to life when she'd realized she'd been duped into being the water-nin's meal ticket.

"He. Said. _What?_"

The waitress smiled nervously. "Oh my, I guess he must not have mentioned that little detail. Well, regardless, _someone_ has to pay for the food. We needn't have a problem, am I right?" she replied with a slightly evil glint in her eye that made Naruto mentally shrink back a bit.

_Shit, this rabid-ass waitress reminds me of Sakura, when she was a kid; totally psycho and sickeningly sweet. Talk about creepy._

It seemed Sasuke noticed this as well if that shudder he was trying to mask was anything to go by.

"Heh heh, right! I'll just kill him later, painfully," Naruto replied, handing over the desired amount of money.

"Have a nice day!" the waitress replied, more to Sasuke than Naruto. The blond almost popped a blood vessel out of frustration as she huffed and hauled an unsuspecting Uchiha out of the dango shop.

"He's dead, so dead! If the inn has a blow dryer, he is sooo going to get it!" Sasuke smirked as Naruto stomped off muttering about 'fucking freeloaders' and how alike the water-bastard was with a certain perverted freeloader she knew.

Somewhere in the city a water-nin shuddered in terror only to smirk and shrug it off. Yeah. Suigetsu's plan may have not have come to completion, but it sure as hell was the best two out of three.

xxx

Due to the storm raging around them, the makeshift team of trackers and medic-nin's decided to take shelter. There was simply no way that they'd be able to find their vulpine friend in this sort of weather. Neji was situated against a cave wall as the Hyūga heiress and her boyfriend were huddled up, asleep, against each other, opposite from him. Karin was busy amusing herself with a book and Sakura was staring intensely into the fire they'd built.

"We are going to find her," Neji spoke up after a long lapse of silence; deciding on consoling the apparently distressed girl.

Sakura looked up from the flames meeting a pair of familiar lavender, pupiless eyes. She smiled at her boyfriend's best friend and nodded in a dazed fashion. Neji could be a sweetheart when he wanted to, but she knew that that simply wasn't enough to ease her muddled mind. Naruto could be dying and here they were, holed up in a cave in some random forest when they could have been doing something much more productive.

"Look, I know you," the Hyūga continued, "You want to rush out of here and search blindly in the rain until you find her, but that won't and can't happen. We have to be patient. We'll be able to be much more productive once we're well rested and once this storm has died down a bit."

Sakura knew he had a point. They wouldn't be able to do anything right now even if they wanted to. Even still, Sakura couldn't help but feel helpless. Team Seven was like her second family and Naruto was all she had left. Who even knew if Kakashi would pull through his coma.

That thought killed Sakura inside. First they lost Sasuke, and then they lost Kakashi, sure not in body, but in mind. If Sakura were to lose Naruto too, there'd be no telling how she'd react. Sure, she had Sai and Yamato-taicho as well, but it just wasn't the same.

Sakura couldn't help but wonder if this sense of loss was anything compared to how her sensei felt. It seemed almost like history really would repeat itself. Sasuke was just as messed up as Orochimaru; Naruto was ever the martyr like Jiraiya, and Sakura would be left alone, just like Tsunade. That train of thought left her feeling even more lost.

If Naruto were to die, would Sasuke even care? No one even knew the S-ranked missing ninja's whereabouts. He just sort of disappeared after the war died down. The last she'd heard was that Team Taka was no longer following Madara and that was that; nothing more, nothing less.

"Hey . . . Karin?"

The redhead had long since ditched her book in favor of watching the interaction between the clear eyed boy and their rosette companion.

"Yeah?" she muttered; trying to clear her throat after the extended silence. She kept her voice low so as not to wake the sleeping couple beside her.

"You were with him while he was away, do you think Sasuke would ever come home?"

Karin snorted in distaste as the bitter memory of the beautiful boy sacrificing her for his goals, resurfaced.

"Sakura, trust me when I say this; Sasuke is out for no one but himself, he'd do anything to get what he wants. Anything that was ever good in that boy has long since died when his brother did. I wouldn't be surprised if he tore this entire world apart just for the sole fact that he's a bitter bastard and wants everyone to suffer like he has. Hell, I guarantee that the war wasn't solely based on Madara's want for Naruto and Killer Bee. Sasuke played an enormous part in wanting to kill all of you off. He's rejected any idea of ever having a home to come back to. Don't delude yourself into thinking he would change his mind."

Neji looked at the redhead with a hardened gaze and then back to the rosette girl, to find her staring once again into the flames of their camp fire. Neji knew what Karin said was true; every bit of it. Yet, he couldn't help but wonder. In Naruto's romanticized way of life, could the Uchiha change his stars? Neji supposed it was possible, not likely, but plausible; if only slightly. Hell, he himself had changed, hadn't he? Who knows, maybe it was just his knew perspective talking, but maybe things weren't as bleak as they seemed. Naruto taught him that.

It'd take a lot, but maybe even a person like Sasuke could let go and try to make the best of what he had. Maybe he sounded delusional, or it was the fatigue talking, but all this thinking about Naruto left Neji feeling hopeful. The girl was a good friend of his and an even greater influence. To him, if Naruto died, hope died. As long as the girl was breathing, Neji would believe in anything other than what fate set out for people. A person could change. Lives could change. Nations could learn to coexist.

"I would not give up just yet," Neji voiced aloud, uncharacteristically."I am of the opinion that when we find Naruto alive, anything can be possible. Even for someone as hateful as Sasuke to change. Sure, that is asking pigs to fly or oceans to run dry, but again, as long as she is breathing, I know I can believe in hope."

Sakura smiled genuinely leaning over and nudging the brunette with her elbow. She giggled a bit as Karin scoffed and went back to reading her book. "I personally think that both Naruto and Lee have rubbed off on you."

"Hmm, I have not a clue as to what you are talking about," Neji replied in his usual stoic manner, trying his best to hide the smirk he wanted to let loose.

"Yeah maybe you're right, you being hopeful and unusually bright? Not a chance! A zebra can't change its colors."

Neji snorted and shook his head in mild amusement. "You know she is alive; we will find her," Neji said firmly.

Sakura nodded in renewed confidence. If Neji was hopeful, then so was she. "If there is anything I know it is that if we left it up to Naruto, she would find the one spot on the zebra's striped back."

Kiba squinted open an eye and smirked softly at the two, before snuggling closer into Hinata and falling back to sleep. Sometimes, his captain could really surprise him.

xxx

As the afternoon drew into evening the storm finally let up for a while; much to Naruto's relief. She just really wanted to relax and what better way to do just that, than to take a dip in the spa.

This inn was of the comfortable sort; not too taxing on the wallet and just hospitable enough to offer free food and spa with their guests' stay. It was a group effort that afforded this establishment for the night. A perfect end to a nightmare – as Naruto saw it anyway.

This was the last night she'd be staying with Sasuke and his odd assortment of friends. It still felt like a dream to her. To think that she'd spent more than a week in the Uchiha's presence without the declaration of death and destruction was a surprise to her. The raven wasn't for the cause of doom and gloom so much anymore; in fact he was more or less back to his aloof and emo-esque self.

Today however, the young nin seemed kind of distant – more than usual.

There was a part of Naruto that wished it was because she was leaving and he'd miss her, but that was asking for far too much from good ol' broody. Even still, she couldn't help but wonder what was wrong. Sighing to herself she wrapped a towel around her torso and slipped into some sandals.

That trip to the spa was in order and much needed. Stepping out of her room she walked down the hall of the inn and exited through the rice paper doors that lead to the spa. The spa itself seemed to be partitioned off in the middle; one side for men the other for women.

Making her lazy trek over to the women's side of the spa she sighed in contentment. She was just about to step foot into the shallow water when a gaggle of giggles erupted across from her. She kind of wanted to strangle the chattering women for disrupting the peaceful atmosphere with their gossip.

Naruto just wasn't that kind of woman. Gossip wasn't her thing; neither was make up, dressing fancy, or girl-talk. It honestly annoyed her. She only really put up with it with Sakura, because the rosette girl was like a sister. Hence, her surrogate sister had commenced said 'girl-talk' with her on more than one occasion; thus leading Ino and TenTen into doing so as well. At least they weren't fan girls with stalker tendencies anymore. Okay, maybe TenTen never was, nor Hinata, but still; girly stuff just wasn't the blonde's thing.

Which lead her to this fork in the road: she could either stay here and endure the giggling banshee's who'd probably caught sight of Sasuke on their way in – if their banter were anything to clarify the fact – or she could henge and just do what she always did; blend in with the guys, if only to get a little more peace.

She was decided and headed back inside the inn and maneuvered strategically into the men's locker room and henged. Finally feeling comfortable with herself she adjusted the towel to ride around her waist and headed for the men's side of the spa – which was considerably quieter.

Once again sighing in contentment she finally slid her henged body waist deep into the comfort of the warm water.

Suigetsu, finally taking notice of her through the quiet, twitched despite himself.

"D-dude! What the hell are you doing, Naruto?" he asked the henged woman a little louder than necessary. Which cause Jūgo and Sasuke to take note of the girl invading 'men's territory.'

Naruto scoffed at this. Leave it to that idiot to feel awkward, thus make everyone else who knew her as a 'her' awkward.

"What does it look like I'm doing Kappa? I'm relaxing," she retorted as if it were the most obvious answer in the world. Her unerring tenacity did much to sate the awkward tension Sasuke was feeling. Making him slip into the comfortable denial he shrouded himself in; said denial being Sasuke's little world where Naruto only existed as a male – a very girly male.

"Are you really that confused or did you not see the partition for the women's side of the spa?" Once again, Naruto managed to hit Suigetsu without laying a finger on him and once again Sasuke did not question her yellow eyes or the orange accent gracing the crease of her eyes.

Jūgo seemed oddly content with this situation and smiled softly, his eyes crinkling as a bird nestled in his orange locks as if it were an everyday occurrence.

Suigetsu noticed Naruto's fascination with the sight and decided to elaborate on it. "Jūgo has a way with animals, unlike you who stuff birds down your throat and has them crawl back up."

This made Sasuke snort and Naruto stare at the water nin in mortification, sputtering a response. Finding nothing to say in her defense she settled on glaring. Suigetsu just smiled cheekily at her, knowing he'd crawled under her skin.

"So, Tranny, what was your real reason for coming here? Didja just wanna sneak a peek at the goods, or what?" the white haired boy suggested in his normal pervy fashion.

Sasuke took this time to mentally prepare Suigetsu's slow and painful death. That is until—

"Tch . . . from where I stand, it's not all that impressive and trust me; I know what I'm talking about," she gestured to herself. "I grew up as more of a man than I can see that you are now."

All seriousness, personas and reputations to keep up aside, the two just couldn't help themselves – Sasuke and Jūgo burst into laughter. Seeing the utter humiliation that was Suigetsu's expression was much too priceless. It was simply too much to contain.

Seeing Suigetsu turn utterly red and sink into the water further did nothing to make them feel bad. Sure it was one hell of a blow to pride, but they all knew it was just a matter of time before the water-esque ninja bounced back with a retort of his own – if he could find one.

As their laughter turned into chuckles and died down a bit, Jūgo spoke up.

"So, Naruto, why are you over here?" he asked in his ever polite tone of voice.

"Need you ask?" Naruto replied incredulously. "As soon as those gaggle of girls caught wind of Fabio over here," she gestured to Sasuke, "they wouldn't shut up, and it was very annoying. There are only so many ways a woman can translate 'I wanna fuck him senseless' into a nice way before it becomes nothing short of soft-core porn."

"Hn . . . It'd couldn't have been that bad, Dobe," the raven scoffed as he crossed his arms over his chest.

Jūgo looked between the two in question.

"You wanna bet, Teme? It was seriously prepubescent-Sakura status; except with about thirteen women. It was more or less nothing short of your unholy entourage of fan girls back home." Sasuke tried to remain stoic but couldn't help but let the shudder of disgust escape. "Yeah, now you believe me? I remember all those times I had to save your ass from those banshees. You can't deny how unnerving that is."

"Fair enough," Sasuke replied.

"Wait, so you're saying you weren't a part of the 'I LOVE SASUKE' entourage?" Suigetsu retorted at long last.

"No one asked for your commentary Teeny-Kappa," she replied haughtily; earning her an all-out smirk from Sasuke, and Jūgo trying to stifle an obvious chuckle.  
_**  
Kami, you're ruthless,**_ Kyūbi barked out in laughter.

_I learn from the best,_ Naruto replied with satisfaction.

_**And I've never been more proud,**_ Kyubi replied; wiping at a faux tear with his massive paw.

This was far more entertaining than when Karin would verbally rip him a new asshole. Sasuke wondered vaguely if the blond were taking pointers from the redhead.

With his pride thoroughly thrashed for the moment Suigetsu decided to take his leave; running with his nonexistent tail between his legs. Naruto grinned brightly at her other two companions.

Sasuke just couldn't help but feel his heart clench a bit at the sight; leading him to brood more on the days conflicting emotions.

xxx

A little later on that night, Sasuke was laying on his futon staring blankly at the ceiling. Jūgo was on the floor sitting against the wall, lost in meditation. Suigetsu however, was watching the young Uchiha brood. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out who the stoic raven had been brooding over all day.

Taking it upon himself, Suigetsu dropped himself comfortably beside his raven friend on the futon. "Y'know you're stupid, right?"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow in question at his water-esque friend in question.

"I know who you're thinking about," Suigetsu clarified; making Sasuke stare blankly in defense. "This whole time, I've been wondering. Wondering when you'd finally let yourself be happy. Not that I care, but it's apparent that you're not," the water-nin finished.

That had apparently caught to rogue ninja off guard. "Explain," he replied in an even tone.

"You know more than I do, that a woman like her doesn't just float down a river every day," Suigetsu explained. "And yet, here you sit; being the utter social retard that we all know you are – letting her slip through your fingers. Again," the white haired boy deadpanned.

Sasuke's blank stare shifted into a slightly mild glare. He knew the nuisance before him was just trying to get a rise out of him – unfortunately it was working.

He felt exposed, but he should have known better. Suigetsu had this way about him that made him very perceptive of his surroundings and company. Of course he'd have picked up on that fact that Sasuke seemed more at ease when she was around. Sasuke would have been labeled a fool if he hadn't recognized this himself. He may have been stubborn and against it – hell bent on denying the fact – but Naruto changed people. Naruto made them question themselves and want to do better with what they had.

Years ago, when they spoke of bonds, Sasuke was almost positive he'd severed them. He did everything he could to kill the best of himself; to accept hate, to smother that light. But he was wrong. He would find that years – and a few attempts at murder later – that it'd only grown stronger.

All the lies that his life was comprised of were falling away. He had no reason for pride or to hide these growing feelings any more. He had no reason to hate or kill needlessly; Itachi made sure to snuff that as soon as he could. Sasuke was never more grateful. He'd honestly had been growing tired of that life. He'd been so weary and mentally drained that all he'd wanted was to fall into a deep sleep and never wake up. Suigetsu and Jūgo did their best to pull him out of that funk. Saying it was un-Uchiha-like; following him around despite his previous abandonment.

He didn't know when or how he'd made such good friends of them, but he was grateful he had.

Despite his life's change of direction, he just knew he couldn't go back to Konoha, even if he wanted to. Not only would he be detained or killed on sight, but how was he even supposed to face Naruto after all of the stuff he'd pulled?

Of course, that notion was knocked out of the equation any way, but even still. He knew Tsunade wasn't a very forgiving woman, especially since he'd hurt Naruto – who was practically her own child.

"Would you seriously stop brooding for two seconds?" Suigetsu bit out breaking Sasuke's train of thought. "You can keep it to yourself or deny it as much as you want, but any idiot can see that you don't want her to leave. Yet your letting it happen anyway," the white haired boy accused.

Sasuke didn't confirm or deny as he got up to leave the room. He need to breathe, to think, and Suigetsu's bullshit was grating on his very thin nerves.

The white haired male was about to retort when Jūgo interfered.

"Let him be, Suigetsu. Regardless of your opinion he's going to do or not do whatever he wants. He'll come to the right conclusion himself," the citrus haired boy insisted.

Suigetsu shrugged, trying not to seem put out by this. "Tch . . . fine, but if he's not going to do it, then I will."

Jūgo shook his head slightly.

There was no getting through to him once he was one a mission. Didn't Suigetsu see that he was being hypocritical? Jūgo guessed not.

Sighing, he went back to meditating. No use in getting worked up on something that wasn't his business anyway. The last thing tthe orange haired boy needed was to go on an accidental killing spree.

xxx

Sasuke stalked out of his room and squared his shoulders; his usual mask firmly in place. Leave it to Suigetsu to get him all riled up. So what if it were kind of true? Maybe he really didn't want Naruto to leave. It still wasn't any of his business; not when Suigetsu himself couldn't even confess to a certain redhead.

Speaking of which, he wondered how the girl was. Having caught wind of Naruto and Suigetsu's conversation from earlier he wasn't too surprised. Karin had every right to hate him and so did Naruto. But the Konoha-nin, for some reason, didn't.

It was really confusing to him, how one person could be so perpetually forgiving. It was honestly unreal, but then again, Naruto wasn't a very normal person.

Besides, she wasn't the only thing he was caught in thought about. He was more or less thinking about the last conversation he'd had with his brother. Wondering if this was the sort of remedy Sasuke required. Would Itachi approve of this? Was this as close to his brother's idea of peace as he could be? And if he was, was he really okay with letting that go? He just didn't have the answer. All he knew was that it was suffocating him.

"You're giving me a headache," a now familiar feminine voice called from beside him. Sasuke didn't even realize that he'd stopped on the dock of a small lake. "You think too much," the voice continued.

"Dobe, only you would be of the opinion that thinking was a taxing chore. Does your brain really not have the capacity for thinking of more than just fighting and ramen?"

"Ouch, Teme. Put the claws away before you hurt yourself," she chastised teasingly.

"What are you even doing out here?" Sasuke queried out of frustration.

"I was coming back from a walk, what about you?" she asked sitting on the dock beside his standing form. Sasuke followed suit, giving in to the inevitable; if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

"You realize that the Akatsuki could've ambushed you at any time," Sasuke stated bluntly, avoiding her question. She snorted, taking notice of the obvious dodge but let it go.

"I'm really not as pathetic as how you found me a week ago."

"Could have fooled me," he retorted, staring blankly out at the water.

Naruto took one look at him and punched him halfheartedly in the arm. "What the hell do you even know about running for your life every damn day, Teme?"

Sasuke considered this for a moment and changed his tone, muttering a soft 'right.' Maybe he shouldn't take his frustrations out on the object of his newfound affection just because Suigetsu decided to state the obvious.

"What's wrong with you today?" she asked as she returned her gaze to the murky looking water.

"Nothing," he replied curtly.

"Yeah? And my favorite color isn't orange," she retorted sardonically.

"I've just been thinking, is all," he offered vaguely.

"Well thank you Captain Obvious. Now what are the real details?"

"It's none of your damn business," he replied, not bothering to conceal his discontent.

"Sasuke, when it concerns you, I tend to make things my business," she replied honestly. "Call me nosy or whatever, I only ask because I care."

"It's not like you should," he replied with a glare. This earned him a punch to the face. Honestly, how the hell could she do that without moving? "Would you stop that? That whole not moving a muscle thing, but beating someone to a pulp, is weird," he bit out.

Naruto simply smirked in satisfaction. If she could get Sasuke to banter with her like they used to, then she could crack him enough to get him to spill.

"Look, your brand of Emo™ is so contagious that it's starting to rain again!"

The raven just simply stared at her as if she were stupid; a few droplets landing on his face. "Dobe."

"Teme," she bit back, her cerulean eyes igniting like fire. Nudging him in the ribs she urged him on. "Now tell me what's on your mind."

"A lot of things," he scoffed.

"Give me another vague answer and I'll do to you what I did to Kappa when he 'dine and ditch'ed me," she replied in a serious tone of voice.

Sasuke smirked despite himself at the wonderful memory. If there was one thing Naruto shared in common with Sakura was the fact that they both gave one hell of a beating. "What do you keep hitting us with, anyway?"

"Sage mode. In a nutshell, it's basically a shit ton of power using nature chakra. Now quit evading my questions and answer me, Teme."

"And if I decline?"

"I'd get it out of you eventually, so you might as well cut your losses now."

"You're persistence knows no boundaries."

"I never claimed that it did," she replied with a smirk.

Sasuke bit back a sigh of defeat. "It's just, so much to talk about. I wouldn't even know where to start."

"How about to beginning? That usually works, Teme," the woman supplied in an unhelpful manner, smirking all the while. Sasuke simply leered at her and mused the thought of shoving her off the dock. He decided against it this time, but the next time he wouldn't be as lax.

"I always used to wonder why I've never seen my mother use her Sharingan," he began hesitantly. Naruto looked at him intently, showing she was listening. "It wasn't until my last conversation with Itachi, that I would find out." He paused for a few minutes. Naruto nodded and rubbed his shoulder in a gentle circle, encouraging him to continue.

"She believed that the Sharingan was a weapon that only brought despair. For some people this was true. If the Sharingan is over used . . ." He paused briefly as he touched his fingers to his right eye, "The user eventually goes blind."

Naruto's eyes widened ever so slightly. "You don't mean . . ."

"Yes, I do. The last time we saw each other, at the beginning of the war, I could barely make out the features of your face. I was going blind."

"Then, how?" she asked out of pure curiosity.

"Madara. He transplanted Itachi's eyes in exchange for mine."

"Well . . . that sure explains why he was eyeless when I saw him . . ." she pointed out morbidly. Sasuke snorted at this.

"It's apparent that even Itachi was going blind. At first my vision was fuzzy through his eyes. This got considerably better as my body reacted to and accepted the eternal Mangekyo Sharingan. Sure my vision is still a bit fuzzy, but at least I won't go blind any time soon.

"Finally! Something the great Uchiha Sasuke isn't perfect at!" she exclaimed with amusement.

"You're about a second away from being shoved into the freezing water, Dobe."

"No! No, I kid, I kiiiiid," she insisted quickly; clinging onto his arm in case he decided to shove her in anyway. She wasn't going down without taking him with her. He simply ignored her and made no further attempt on his threat.

"Anyway. From what my brother told me, our mother saw the Sharingan as the family disease; something that would inevitably drag us all down. She never used hers on this principle. She never voiced it aloud, at least in front of me or my father, but, she was of the opinion that only despair would come from this kekei genkai. It was honestly ironic that the entire clan would eventually fall for this very reason. The Sharingan was coveted by Danzo. Even those who'd already had it, like Madara, craved for more of its power."

"Look, I don't know anything about your own experiences with it, but I know what you're saying is true. From what I've seen, from an outsiders stand point, the Sharingan has only caused pain. Even Kakashi-sensei, who isn't even an Uchiha has suffered greatly from it," she said solemnly.

"What do you mean?" Sasuke asked in a serious tone of voice.

Naruto looked across the expanse of water, her cerulean eyes clouded and dark. "Kaka-sensei . . . he's been in a Sharingan induced coma for a year now," she began as Sasuke's eyes widened a small fraction. "If it weren't for him, I'd be dead right now. Madara at that point had decided to come for me himself. As he began to use his Sharingan, Kaka-sensei arrived at the exact second to counter the attack. It was enough to make Madara retreat, I know that much. I also know that that wasn't the first incident that Kakashi-sensei had been hospitalized for using his Mangekyo Sharingan. He'd always slip onto week long comas, but never this long; never a year."

Sasuke's expression was tight and stern. "He's lucky he's not dead. The Mangekyo Sharingan is much too strong of a jutsu for him, only having one Sharingan eye. Whatever he did, must have seriously messed him up."

Naruto nodded in understanding. "I figured. I can't say I'm not grateful though, I just wish I didn't have to watch him deteriorate because of me." Sasuke's expression softened as he gazed at the blond.

"What Kakashi did was not your fault. He obviously knew what he was getting into. I'm sure he wouldn't have had it any other way, because he cared about you," the raven said in sincerity.

Had it been him in Kakashi's place, he just knew that for some reason or another, he'd have done the same. Regardless; Naruto was his to kill, if anyone. But he also knew that it wouldn't have been for that purpose. What he'd been feeling lately, this obligatory feeling, it almost felt like homesickness. It seemed to him now, that where ever Naruto was, that was where home was – Konoha didn't matter. Sasuke couldn't fathom being in a world where the blond shinobi didn't exist. He realized that now. It was why he couldn't kill her, as much as he wanted to or as much as she frustrated him.

"I know you're right, but . . . I'd never wish that on anyone."

"I know. It's not in your nature; as if the river incident wasn't enough to clarify that fact," he said with a smirk as she huffed and punch him in the arm; only now realizing that she'd never let go of his arm.

"I may not know all of what Itachi said to you, Teme, but I'm beginning to wonder if he encouraged you to be a comedian."

"I'm glad you could tell. He was even giving me tips on how to pull a rabbit out of a hat, or in his case, pull a raven out of someone's throat."

Naruto's nose crinkled in disgust as she gave a harsh shove sending the raven haired boy flying into the water. He had other plans however, as he pulled her with him by her ankle.

"You fucker!" she managed to shriek before her head got under water.

As they both fought each other under the water, they both surfaced underneath the dock; both coughing up water as Naruto's long golden hair splayed around the both of them. Realizing their proximity they two backed up considerably, cheeks heated as they stared off into different directions.

"I hope you catch a cold!" the blond scoffed splashing the raven in the face with icy water. Sasuke snorted and let out a laugh despite himself.

"Dobe."

"Humph . . . Teme."

"You know, I'm surprised I never noticed before, but you're . . . such a girl."

Naruto stared at him in mortification; sinking lower into a corner of woe. All she heard were Sasuke's silent chuckles as she noticed him walking away. He may have won this battle, but he would not win the war!

Maybe talking, rather than brooding was a good thing? Sasuke honestly almost felt better; if not for the bittersweet homesick feeling.

Maybe Suigetsu was right. Just what was he giving up this time? He mentally shrugged as he heard a very irate Naruto running up from behind him. Smirking to himself, he couldn't help but think: _I'll cross that bridge when I come to it._

Little did he know, he was about to be forced to.


	6. Chp 5 The Things We Stood Against

**AN:** Thank you to all of my lovely readers! For both; your support and your wonderful reviews! I'm sorry that this chapter has taken so long to come out. I was literally gone for two weeks traveling and hanging out with my best friend. All of that, coupled with moving into a new apartment soon after and uber-laziness after moving into said apartment and lack of internet, is my 100% full proof excuse ..er.. Reason! ^_^;; I was going to make this chapter longer, but i realized that If I did this thing would have been uuuuuber massive, so I decided to break it down and save stuff for the next chapter. Hopefully this was well worth the wait! Thanks again!

-Nomy

**Disclaimer:** The song title '_The Things We Stood Against' _belongs to the band '_Before Their Eyes_.'

* * *

**My Ticket Home**

Chp. **5**

(The Things We Stood Against.)

By: **OmNomN0mnivore**

Betad by:** MrsHellman**

* * *

That next morning Team Eagle Eye set off early and swiftly. Naruto's trail was unfortunately already dead cold; making them feel the pressuring weight of the situation.

Keeping in touch with Sai's team through ink birds kept everyone in the loop on what was going on as they started to move in groups a couple of yards from each other. The pale raven's team had set off more toward Kusa to back track, whereas Neji and his group were currently on route toward Oto. They decided to V their formation and close in on one another to cover more ground.

Kiba had already established that Naruto wasn't west of Kusa based on where she'd seemingly vanished. Shikamaru, who was also in contact with them, confirmed this as he was traveling to Suna. The Kazekage also had teams searching lands nearby that direction - with no luck on either's part.

Neji and Hinata were both of the opinion that Naruto- if alive and captured- would likely be in an area closest to the Akatsuki's last hideout. What better place to revamp their search, than Oto? Seeing as Kabuto - a former cohort of Madara's - was reportedly last seen there.

Karin may not have felt anything yet, but she had a feeling that they were onto something. Even through this wild weather she knew that they were close somehow; she had this overbearing feeling screaming at her. Not necessarily of dread, but more of an anxiousness. It was beginning to give her a bad case of nausea. Sakura on the other hand, was showing improvement. That is, if that look of determination wasn't a farce. Maybe Neji's pep-talk actually worked?

It was then that redheaded sensor nin picked up on a light flicker of a well hidden chakra signal. That anxiety she'd been feeling doubled. This chakra signal; she knew it.

"I-I've caught something!" she bit out, trying to force the taste of bile from her mouth. The other five - Akamaru included - stopped abruptly in the treetops near the Valley of the End. "Five miles up ahead," she continued as they looked at her with determined eyes.

"It's a small group of four. Their chakra signals are being masked very well so that they'd be almost impossible to find," she stated in a manner of fact. Neji nodded and proceed to question her.

"Can you confirm who it is?" he asked evenly.

"Don't quote me on this, but I'd recognize that warm chakra signal from anywhere," Karin replied with a bit of uncertainty. She just didn't want to be wrong; not when that other chakra signal was with her blonde friend's.

"You seem apprehensive," Kiba stated, giving her a once-over.

"Well you see that's the thing; if this is Naruto, it really bothers me, because of whom I believe she's with."

"Who?" Sakura asked anxiously.

"Again, don't quote me on this, but I think it may be Sasuke," she answered and all four sets of eyes widened considerably before hardening intensely.

"H-how can we n-not quote you on this? Y-you're the best of the best Karin-chan," Hinata piped up from the middle of the group.

"Hina's right!" Kiba interjected. "If you say it's them, we know it's them. Now the question is, what do we make of this?"

"Well, essentially, nothing good could come of this. Sasuke is unpredictable and has been an accessory to many crimes, murders and an entire war. Not to mention he was an Akatsuki member himself. This is bad; really bad," Neji replied.

Sakura's eyes were downcast; the pain evident in those evergreen pools. Neji noticed this.

"Look, Sakura, I know this is the worst possible scenario for you as their teammate and friend. The fact still remains, however, that Sasuke is a criminal and if he has Naruto, it is for no good reason. He has a penchant for trying to kill her in any way possible." Sakura nodded solemnly, understanding full well, what he was saying. Neji was almost always right.

"So!" Kiba shouted loudly, "Plan is: we hide our own chakra signals and haul ass to wherever they're at. Storm them, kick an ass or two, and reclaim Naruto! If all else fails, we kill the traitorous son of a bitch." Kiba then realized that he let his mouth run away from his brain when he saw the utter look of despair that Sakura was trying to hide. He instantly felt like an ass.

"As awful as that scenario sounds, I agree," Neji replied coolly. "The only logical way to go about this is surprise. We are to take her back by force. Sasuke is an internationally wanted criminal. We cannot afford to let him take her. If we can help it, we arrest him, if not, we kill him, are we clear about our objective?"

"Yes sir," the girls said rather reluctantly. Neji and Kiba nodded once to each other before they set off.

xxx

Kabuto made his way through the electrified atmosphere of the old, but current, Akatsuki hideout. His features were tense as he stayed on alert. Madara may have played the part of a nobleman at times, but Kabuto knew the Uchiha was just as much of a snake as Orochimaru had been.

For all Kabuto knew, this entire fiasco could have been a trap, hence he also prepared for such a scenario. Madara was cunning, but so was Kabuto, which was the reason he was even here. This was merely a whimsical meeting for him; nothing to be taken seriously.

They gray-haired male smirked to himself as he entered the main hall, taking note of the Uchiha sitting atop a makeshift throne. How cocky. It appeared as though a massacre had occurred - if the excessive blood staining the royal purple carpet was anything to go by.

Kabuto's body was urging him to turn back and get the hell out of there while he still could, but refrained from doing so, as to not look weak; he had an appearance to uphold. This was his moment. Uchiha Madara came crawling back to him, and no one else; but even still, Madara was a force to be reckoned with and Kabuto knew firsthand what that blank - yet cold - expression meant.

"Nice of you to join us, Kabuto," his host spoke icily. The young gray-haired male wanted to asked who 'us' was but though against it. Taking careful note of the chakra signatures being concealed masterfully - only flaring when Madara hinted they were even there - Kabuto remained expressionless. A small trickle of sweat rolled down the back of his neck.

"What do you want, Madara?"

"No beating around the bush I see?"

_No,_ Kabuto thought. _I'd much rather get this over with and get the hell away from him._

"I see no need in playing mind games with one another. Just tell me why I've been summoned here. You wouldn't do it just for kicks; you must have a very important reason," Kabuto replied, whilst trying to play into Madara's hand as the 'I-am-an-asset' card. Anything to assure that he walked out of this room alive and not in an 84-by-28-inch wooden box.

"I see. Have it your way then," Madara replied with a hint of amusement. "I have a proposition for you."

"Oh?" Kabuto replied with faux interest.

"You see, I have a task that needs to be done within competence. None of the men I've acquired seem to even know the meaning of that word. Their ignorance was their demise."

_Ah, so that's where the bloodstains came from_. Kabuto thought before getting too off track. "I assume that you need me for this task?" he asked cockily.

"More or less," Madara replied vaguely, still slightly amused at Kabuto's clearly forced disposition.

"Do tell."

"This task requires cunning. Call it a revamp of what was initially a blunder on your part. Let's just say, between friends, that the only reason you still stand is because I need this. It can only be you."

Like water to fire, Kabuto's confidence cascaded before him as he struggled to pick up the pieces.

"You see, Kabuto. Our attempts to capture the Ninetail's may have ended in failure, but the goal remains the same. Only this time, we . . . rework it. " Kabuto's expression was tight and his gaze sharp. Madara's own held a sinister mirth; that one Sharingan eye was mocking him.

"I'll give you a second to think about it, but what is it that separate Jinchūriki apart from other people? Aside from the obvious," Madara asked with a small gesture of his hand.

"The obvious being harboring a demon, no doubt; the human host has both their own powers and the limitless powers of the demon which they house. They can use that power, those senses to their advantage-"

"Stop right there. Using the current Kazekage as a prime example, would you say it was possible - if a Jinchūriki were to survive the extraction - that they would inevitably retain those exact powers?"

Kabuto's brow rose in question. "You of all people should know that. Of course they would. If a human, over any expanse of time, comes within contact of demonic power or something as raw as its chakra, the human adapts to it or is killed. For obvious reasons strong lineage is used for Jinchūriki. One, because they wouldn't turn on their families and two, because they'd actually survive the sealing process. So, it goes without saying, if we're using Gaara as an example, yes they would retain most of their powers, demon and human alike."

Madara was slightly impressed. Kabuto really seemed to know his stuff. "Would you be of the opinion that only another Jinchūriki would and could be capable of sensing and capturing another Jinchūriki?"

Having been given a moment to think about it Kabuto replied. "There's no doubt."

"So, I assume you know now, what we should have done in the first place?"

"What do you mean?" Kabuto bit out not liking this confusion.

"The war was a good idea. It cornered the nations, but we went about it wrong. Instead of playing on everyone emotionally, what should have been done is simple. We should have made those brought back drones in the first place, and kept our armies small and tightly knit. Just like the Akatsuki used to work."

Kabuto's eyes widened as he began to catch on. "We're not only going to bring back all of the deceased Jinchūriki, but someone of great importance as well," Madara continued.

Kabuto smirked wickedly, liking this new plan. "When do we discuss the details?"

xxx

"You still have time you know," Suigetsu muttered to the Uchiha next to him; matching his sprint.

Said raven remained silent, his lips pursed into a thin line. Suigetsu had been hounding him ever since he got back to their suite last night, reminding him of this very moment as much as he could.

They were now mere minutes from the land of Fire's border, and none of them spoke a word about it when they continued on further than they'd initially planned - Naruto however took notice.

"Hey!" she called out to the boys as she stopped abruptly on a low hanging branch. They remained silent but stopped as well and turned to her. "I thought you guys weren't going to go any further? I'm pretty much golden from here."

"No. You're not," Sasuke deadpanned before taking off again, Jūgo following behind. Suigetsu smirked and shrugged at the clearly confused girl.

"That's Broody's translation for: You need a babysitter," the white-haired male said and together they both paced themselves behind the raven and citrus haired boys.

"I don't need babysitters. I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself," she retorted haughtily. "I've survived the past nineteen years so why shouldn't I survive the upcoming day?"

"Hah! Says woman who floated - practically comatose - down a river and into our good graces," Suigetsu replied with a laugh. Naruto sneered.

"You're never going to stop rubbing that in, are you?" she exclaimed in exasperation.

"Not that it really was a laughing matter in the first place, but nope," he answered, all three of them saying the word 'nope'.

"Oh come _on_! Jūgo, not you too? I can understand the bastard and Kappa, but you too?" she replied in defeat as the orange haired boy simply smiled apologetically as he continued on.

"You three just wait! You'll all rue the day I become Hokage! I won't forget this!" she replied still fuming as she heard a round of snickers from Suigetsu and a snort from Sasuke.

"In that case, you really do need babysitters. Don't want our future _Hokage _to play floater again, do we?" Suigetsu mumbled under his breath and Naruto was a hairsbreadth from punching his face into liquid mush with the words 'knock it off, Fishface!', but Sasuke stopped her with a gentle hand on her arm.

"Still pinning for Hokage?" the raven asked without actually addressing her.

"Tch, as if I'd ever give up on something I want!" she replied arrogantly as she caught up to him. "I'm no pushover anymore, Teme. What you guys saw was a fluke, I don't need babysitting."

Sasuke gave her a half nod before ignoring her rant, to which she pouted over but remained silent. "So, what's the real reason you're going out of your way for?" she asked out of curiosity.

"What can go wrong, will go wrong. It's something I've learned over the years. I'll take no chances. The Akatsuki is not a force to sweep under the rug. If they cornered you when you were with your ANBU team, they'll most definitely corner you alone, even if it's in your homeland. Itachi and Kisame proved that point valid by coming into Konoha."

Naruto nodded in understanding. "True, Deidara and Sasori also didn't break as much as a sweat getting into Suna either."

"Well there you have it," the raven said sardonically.

"Doesn't mean I like it."

"Just be happy I'd even consider getting this close to Konoha. That is what you wanted, right?"

"Not like this."

"Get over it. We're escorting you a bit further whether you like it or not . . . floater."

Naruto's jaw went slack for a few seconds before she shook her head and simply nodded and resigned herself to agreeing with him; she just hoped nothing happened to them. The rules were unspoken, but very real. Konoha ninja were supposed to either detain or kill the missing nins before her on sight. Of course Naruto never could nor would, but that didn't stop the others from considering it; especially since she's been missing for so long. She was sure that if they spotted her with them, they'd get the wrong impression.

The four of them soon found themselves at the waterfall of the very place that Sasuke and Naruto parted ways six years prior. It seemed so nostalgic now that the both of them just seemed to stare blankly and take everything in, as if truly seeing it for the first time. The two of them shared a glance but what they saw was more like a phantom; a shadow of their former selves. This is where one chapter of their lives ended only to birth a chapter they'd rather forget.

Suigetsu and Jūgo remained silent as they watched the silent conversation between the two; their eyes saying exactly what their mouths could not.

Together they all jumped down onto the water's surface and walked up to the bank that would lead Naruto back to Konoha. Mentioned blonde; breathed out slowly, her breath quivering ever so slightly. She hurriedly turned back to face her companions as if they'd all spontaneously disappear - as if this were never really real.

The three boys caught this but remained silent as she composed herself.

"So . . . I guess this is it," she said before laughing nervously as she scratched the back of her head.

Sasuke merely nodded; earning him a harsh nudge in the ribs by Suigetsu.

With a grunt of discomfort he replied aloud; "If I were you, I'd not deviate from the path and hurry on home."

"Tch, Teme, what are you going to tell me next? Not to take candy from strangers?" she replied condescendingly.

The Uchiha rolled his eyes before smirking slightly. Suigetsu sighed loudly before shoving Sasuke aside. "Tranny . . . it's been a pleasure. Please excuse this failure's attempt at saying goodbyes. He can't seem to grasp simple human interactions just yet. Given the time, and a prescription of Zoloft, I'm sure he'll get it eventually."

She arched an eyebrow as she smiled coyly. "Your farewell really isn't any better. Just saying, Kappa."

"Psh. At least I have the balls to acknowledge that you're leaving, unlike some Emos I know of," he replied. Not even a first class idiot could have missed his pointed leer toward the Uchiha next to him.

"Meh . . ." She shrugged and smiled one of her beaming grins. "It's been great, Kappa, but I must say I won't miss your ill-administered advances."

"You're just bitter because you can't tap this," he replied haughtily.

"I have higher standards," she replied smirking all the while.

"Right, I forgot, you like your men and women emo, broody, bastardly, and power obsessed. God, you're masochistic." The water-esque man made a very feminine gesture with his hand to his forehead; faked swooning in place.

This earned him a glare from both Sasuke and Naruto.

Jūgo decided to step in and be the diffuser. "It was a pleasure having you around Naruto-chan. Hopefully if we all do this again it can be for better reasons."

"Aahahah . . . yeeeeah. I'll have to note that somewhere," she replied scratching the back of her head nervously. "Do - not - visit - friends - while - dying. Got it. Oh and Jūgo, please just call me Naruto, chan is just . . . so . . . not me."

"Spoken like the true gender bender you are, Tranny," Suigetsu interjected with a smirk.

"Fuck off, before I put you in a freezer. How does fish flavored popsicles sound to you?"

Sasuke sighed, but couldn't help but smirk at the retort leaving her lips. "Ignore him."

"Pff," she replied through gritted teeth.

Shaking it off, she stood before Sasuke and smiled. She thrust her fist forward in that distantly familiar gesture that she always had - it was so very nostalgic. How many times had they done this? Tons of times, he was sure. It was their thing. Whenever the both of them or the other did something or said something awesome. Whenever their makeshift teamwork/rivalry pulled through, they'd always bumped fists. Resigning himself with a small timid smile he bumped his fist against hers. Who would have thought that something so simple could feel so right? Sasuke considered this for a moment.

"Don't be such a stranger, Teme. I know it's probably too much to ask for you to write or something equally unbecoming of you, but I'd like to know occasionally if you're all still alive - out of trouble and the like. You know? Hell, you can keep the incriminating stuff to yourselves," she gestured to the three of them, "It'd . . . just be nice. Sakura-chan would appreciate it too."

Sasuke didn't know what to say. What could he say? He'd never really had anyone willing to wait for him; never anyone to go back to, or to worry over whether he were okay or not. He'd only ever felt that close to his mother and brother. There was once a time when he'd mused over the thought of Team Seven filling that role. He would have sworn that he'd squashed that when he turned his back on them. Sasuke realized that he probably should have replied, but he was truly at a loss of what to say.

Naruto frowned somewhat. "Sheesh, don't seem too ecstatic about it now."

Suigetsu sighed. Really, even if he were a perverted jerk he really did like Naruto, he felt for her, truly. Sasuke . . . was just so damn socially inept; where his personal feelings were concerned anyway. "That's okay, Tranny . . . we can swap stories about what a skank Karin is," he nudged her playfully, wagging his eyebrows.

Naruto just snorted and rolled her eyes, ruffling the water-esque boy's hair. "Sure thing Teeny-Kappa."

"I - am - wounded. Right here," he said and gestured to his chest.

The blonde arched a brow and smiled coyly. "Your heart is on the left side, dumbass."

"Do you want to know if we're alive or not?" he replied fuming.

She nodded, smiling, while trying to stifle a laugh.

Sasuke watched the exchange with curiosity. Why was it that he couldn't do that? Here he was, watching an interaction between two people who'd met a week ago, acting as if they were close friends, while he - having known Naruto since he was a child - felt like such a stranger. It was in this moment that he'd truly realized all that he'd missed out on. This right here, he could have kept this, had he stayed. Sure, some things would never change between them, but it was highly apparent that the separation left gaps that would never be filled.

_"You still have time you know."_ Suigetsu's words were leaving him sore.

It was annoying how someone like him could be so uncharacteristically perceptive. Was this true? Even if he did still have time, what would he gain? Being sentenced to death or a prison cell? Even if he wanted to go back with Naruto, he'd have to inevitably pay for his numerous crimes. He couldn't put Naruto through that; not after she fought so hard to keep him alive - to get him back. It was much too cruel.

"I'll write . . ." he said eventually, which made the bantering duo stop jabbering and look at him in surprise. "Not often. It'd be suicide. I will though," he continued, mustering up as much sincerity as he could. It was the least he could do.

Gracing him with one of her beaming smiles she replied; "You had better! I've gotten pretty good at tracking your ass down."

Sasuke didn't even have time to smirk before it happened.

He didn't know why they didn't feel it before, all he knew was that they were being ambushed; his only reaction was to pull Naruto out of the way as quickly as possible. Unfortunately this left her unaware and unable to brace herself as he unintentionally flung her still weakened form across the water and into the base of the mountain. He had no time to think of that now though. They were on them; many of them.

It had been so long since the three of them had had a real fight that their reaction time was blemished. Sure, their adrenaline was on high but that was hardly enough to stave off such a frontal assault. Sasuke's Sharingan had activated instinctually and through that he noticed in fine detail that these were Leaf ninja - not the Akatsuki as he'd feared, but the lesser of two evils. Knowing this however didn't make fighting them off any easier, now he had to be careful. If he so much as hurt a single one of them in any way he could never live with himself. It wasn't because of them, no. Their friendship was nothing to him, Naruto's however, was a different story, and by hurting them, he'd hurt her.

He'd done enough of that already.

The raven had resigned himself to this possibility earlier. He knew how probable being caught was, but that didn't stop him. He knew he'd see to it that Naruto got back safely no matter what. He could take no chances with Madara. As of now, he was just glad that she'd be in good hands.

The ground crackled and rumbled with tremors as he was suddenly faced with none other than his second teammate. Sakura's sea green eyes were ablaze with such ferocity that Sasuke was taken aback, stunned into place. It was that split second that he knew it wasn't just that look that snared him; it was none other than Nara Shikamaru. Out of the corner of his eye Sasuke could see that Suigetsu and Jūgo were equally immobile.

Sakura shifted her gaze to the shadow master. "That was quick! How'd you get here so fast?"

"It was a drag, but Chōji and I turned around and headed toward Sai's team, we met up with them not long before you all sent word. We were all close enough to arrive here quickly by air."

"Air?" she replied in confusion until she noticed the large ink birds enclosing their tight circle around the fugitives. Sai nodded once to her and she nodded back in response.

Sasuke heard Suigetsu huff from where he stood. "Well, well, if it isn't Karin, still a wench these days?"

Shit. No wonder they were caught off guard so easily. This was the sole reason Sasuke sought Karin out in the first place. She was an excellent tracker and equally excellent in the element of surprise. As he looked at her now, all she did was sneer. This however didn't faze him. Sasuke knew she hated him for what he'd done. He was fine with that, since she had every right to.

"Kiba, Hinata, go and retrieve Naruto," Neji commanded from beside Shikamaru. "Excellent timing you guys," he hinted to the second search and rescue team.

Before them; stood all of the rookie nine, Team Gai, and to his growing displeasure; Sasuke's replacement Sai, along with Karin. Kiba and Hinata took off in the direction Naruto was thrown. Reminding Sakura even more of why they were here. She was torn, wracked with grief and worry for both of her teammates.

"Sakura," Ino tried, "Why don't you go and see to Naruto?"

Sakura stood still, staring Sasuke down with balled fists and a strained expression. Sai took this moment to stand behind her and place a hand on her shoulder. "Let's go," he said softly to the rosette haired girl. She nodded in a tired manner as she and Sai disappeared from Sasuke's line of sight.

"As the Hokage's adviser, what are your orders?" Neji asked Shikamaru in a respectful tone.

Shikamaru stared at the three captives with a critical eye. Sasuke returned the gaze evenly. Though his expression lacked its usual defiance and looked more accepting of the situation than anything else; as if he'd anticipated being captured.

Shikamaru wasn't the Hokage's adviser for no reason. He knew that a man as strong as Sasuke could not be so easily captured, nor could he be so lax about being captured unless he was being mindful for a really good reason.

It was likely that the missing nin was holding back and trying not to hurt them, yet _willing_ to hurt them if necessary. Now why would a man - who had allegedly captured a Jinchūriki - hold back? The answer was hard to believe, but all the same very simple; he wasn't responsible for Naruto's disappearance, which could only mean that they'd met up somewhere and escorted her back here. But the question was why? Why would a hardened criminal - who on many occasions tried to kill Naruto - want to bring her back safely? This was one factor that Shikamaru couldn't comprehend, but he knew they were innocent of this crime.

He narrowed his eyes and then raised his voice so that all would hear; "I don't know why, but they didn't do it. They weren't holding Naruto hostage."

Most of them were taken aback by this statement. They all turned their gaze to the captive three.

Sasuke hated being scrutinized. It was something he'd often dealt with when with Orochimaru, so he couldn't help but find it as irritating as it were unnerving.

"Uchiha Sasuke, you and your team are under arrest. Not for the disappearance of Uzumaki Naruto but for your past crimes against the five shinobi nations. You are to come quietly and will be judged fairly in a court room, headed by the Godaime Hokage herself. If you are to resist arrest at any time, you will be executed on the spot. The only thing standing in the way of your head being served to the nations on a silver platter are your former teammates."

"Go Tranny," Suigetsu sighed in relief.

"Not now, Suigetsu," Sasuke retorted through clench teeth.

Jūgo merely sighed.

Before they knew it, the three were inside a holding cell beneath the Hokage tower, awaiting their fate. Inevitably, Sasuke was in the exact same place that he said he'd never be again. He'd thrown away any chance of escape and oddly enough he and his two companions were completely fine with it. So much for the things they stood against.


	7. Chp 6 Hell, or High Water

**AN:** SPEEDY UPDATE IS SPEEDY~ thanks to my lovely readers. You guys are awesome, really.

Disclaimer: The song title '_Hell, or High Wate_r' belongs to the band '_Woe, is Me_.'

* * *

**My Ticket Home**

Chp. **6**

(Hell or High Water)

By: **OmNomN0mnivore**

Betad By: **MrsHellman**

* * *

When Naruto had woken up in the infirmary she had been confused. Looking around the small white room she knew she was not in the intensive care unit, thankfully. That was good news. Though the more she thought about the fact that she was here, the more memories assaulted her until she remembered how she got there in the first place. The more she remembered, the more livid she became.

_Oh. Hell. No_, she thought to herself. Hearing Kyūbi snicker from behind his massive cage, confirmed her theory. The reason she was here was because of Sasuke and it was a none too gentle reason.

If looks could kill, the hospital bed she was leering at would have melted under her acidic gaze.

"That fucking bastard." she muttered to herself. But wait . . . if I'm here, then—

"Shit! Shit, shit, shit! Where the hell is Sasuke?" she cried in alarm as she flew from her hospital bed, only to trip ungracefully over the bedding snaked around her ankles. Landing – thankfully onto said bedding – was still as unforgiving as if it weren't there. Groaning as she rubbed her sore neck and head she clambered to her feet, stepping around the blanket and sheets and was out in the hallway in a matter of seconds.

There were a number of scenario's rushing through her mind as she raced to the hospital's elevator; careful to dodge any nurse or physician on her way there. She had just made it to the elevator and was pressing frantically on the down button.

It took its time, but when the steel entryway finally opened and she was met with none other than Tsunade herself – who seemed very irritated if her expression were any indication, she might add.

Lady Karma was a bitch.

The older woman didn't even waste her breath berating the girl for her futile escape. She simply grabbed the stunned shinobi by her arm in a death grip before she could flee and promptly dragged her back to her room.

Naruto felt like a child caught in the cookie jar as she cowered from the intimidating woman. Tsunade was silent and the look on her face was very unnerving. The silence hung quite heavily at this point and Naruto felt herself grow irritated.

One thing lead to another and soon the two blonds were caught in a leering contest; both more stubborn than the other might believe. Fortunately, with their stubbornness issues came resignation: the both of them deflated at the same time. To anyone who didn't know better, one would swear that the two were related by more than just a distant link in the Uzumaki chain.

"Where is he?" Naruto asked, finally finding the will to speak.

Tsunade's eyes narrowed, understanding at once whom the blond before her were asking about. "A holding cell."

"What?" Naruto exclaimed, her tones quickly becoming angered.

"Don't pretend that you didn't see this coming, brat! You're lucky he's even in a holding cell and not six feet under with half of the people in this village pissing on his grave and saying 'Hail Mary's'!"

This struck a nerve in Naruto that made her narrow eyes deepen to a purple. "He saved my life!"

"Once! Out of what? The number of times he's tried to kill you?" Tsunade replied with her jaw clenched in exasperation.

"That's irrelevant, and you know it. Fighting is what we do! We have trouble communicating otherwise," she argued back.

"So, what? Attempted murder is a form of communication, now?" Tsunade retorted sarcastically. "Listen to yourself! Are you so wrapped up in him that you can't even see that you're a walking target? That you were once his target?"

"He wouldn't hurt me!" Naruto replied defiantly.

"He is a part of the Akatsuki! He aided Uchiha Madara in trying to capture Killer Bee! Hell, that piece of shit was even wearing the Akatsuki cloak when the rescue teams found you!" Tsunade barked out in fury; her hazel eyes hard and critical.

The shade of purple that had taken over Naruto azure eyes had lightened significantly; border lining a light red. She was trying her damnedest to keep herself in check. "Don't go assuming you know a damn thing about him. Not this time. If you knew half of the hell I went through this last week, you'd know very well, why I'm even sitting here!"

Tsunade was visibly taken aback by those words. The Hokage knew that the young woman before her had come to blows before, but this was different. She could hardly believe the level of fury that had her successor seething. Naruto was serious – deathly so.

"Please. Do tell," the older woman gritted out indignantly. She refused to bend or be intimidated by this little whelp; she was the Hokage for Kami's sake.

Naruto's jaw was set tightly as she glared down at her feet; feeling the cool linoleum floor beneath her toes.

"It's not like the way it was . . . he's changed. Whether back to how he was before he left, or maybe better than that! Baa-chan, he could have left me to die, instead he chose to save me." She looked up pleadingly at the only person she considered her grandmother, her eyes slowly changing back to the startling blue that they once were. "He even went as far as to bring me here, despite the fact that he knew he'd likely be captured." Naruto's expression quickly drained from anger and made a beeline into grief. "I insisted that I didn't need a babysitter . . . and do you know what his reply to me was?" she asked rhetorically.

"What did he say?" Tsunade asked in a quieter tone, humoring the young woman.

"He told me that if the Akatsuki could corner me when I was with my ANBU team, he'd take no chances of the Akatsuki capturing me while I was alone."

Tsunade eyed her silently. A fist clenched while her other hand gripped her clipboard tightly.

Naruto took this time to continue what she was saying. "That cloak…" she started with uncertainty. "Listen, Baa-chan, he's not a part of the Akatsuki. The only reason he kept it was because it was his brother's. It's a memento. Just like the necklace I'm sure you've confiscated from him. That was also Itachi's."

Tsunade nodded, her expression slowly changing to one of understanding. "Naruto. You have no idea of how worried we were. We searched everywhere. I thought it was over. I'm not quite ready for that yet."

Naruto looked down guiltily. She knew that it was now or never to tell her the truth of what had happened; as much as it would hurt her to hear.

"Baa-chan . . . I've got something else to tell you and I think you should sit down," Naruto told her, solemnly.

Tsunade didn't like the tone she was using. The older woman would rather have had her seething like she was, than to have her speaking so gravely. She complied however and took the seat nearest the younger ninja's bedside.

Naruto sighed dejectedly as she looked up at Tsunade with remorse in her eyes. "I wasn't kidding when I said that if it weren't for Sasuke, I'd be dead." Tsunade tensed in her seat, but Naruto continued anyway. "I was cornered by three Akatsuki members on the Tenshi Bridge. I had little to no chakra, I was badly injured and they were about to converge on me. I did the only thing that I could in that situation. I knew that if they captured me, Madara would have won. I would have died hours later from the extraction."

She paused for a moment; this next part was hard for her to say. It was different with Suigetsu, Sasuke, and Jūgo. The three of them could joke about it because they were the ones who found her; though as much as they did joke about it, they took it seriously.

This however, wasn't the same. She couldn't just laugh it off or get frustrated about bringing it up with Tsunade. She knew that telling the older woman, meant it would risk breaking her heart. She knew that the older woman would feel guilty. She has lost so many loved ones already, but Naruto didn't have the guts to lie. She was much too honest a person to keep it from her.

"Just as they were about to jump at me, I took the suicide pill issued to me and jumped into the river . . . I-I knew that if I died, Kyūbi would die with me. Thus Madara would lose. I would have rather died by my own hand, than to have my soul ripped from my body and have any part of myself aid in the downfall of the shinobi world," the blonde said in a quiet voice avoiding Tsunade's eyes.

The Godaime's heart clenched as tears gathered in her eyes. It was exactly as she feared. She knew that one day her little girl would be forced into that decision. She just didn't anticipate that it was that soon.

Tsunade stood quickly and gathered the young woman into her arms; her tears spilling onto Naruto's hospital gown. Naruto herself was overcome with pent up emotions as she embraced her back. Neither of the two took notice of the two grief-stricken shinobi listening in from behind the door.

The young woman remained in Tsunade's arms as she continued. "Kyūbi is honestly the most stubborn demon in the world. I was sure I was a goner, but he kept me somewhat stabilized. I floated down the Kusa River where Suigetsu eventually found me – Sasuke was on his way to Oto with his team. They'd heard Kabuto was last seen in the area and Sasuke wanted to take him out. Suigetsu thought I was dead and I guess he was poking me and called Sasuke over. That's when Sasuke realized who I was and had Suigetsu help pull me out of the water. They later told me that I was severely poisoned and had a bad case of hypothermia. It lead to me being unconscious for five days, and during that time the three of them took care of me, until I woke up and was somewhat able to take care of myself."

"I bet the gender conversation that was sure to follow was awkward," Tsunade mused with a small sad smile, imagining the lost member of Team Seven's reaction to finding out about his presumed male teammate's true gender.

"Urrghh . . . you have no idea! It was kind of hilarious, now that I think back on it though. Sasuke-teme thought I was using my Oiroke no Jutsu. He was confused as to why I was stuck in female form if I was clearly comatose," the young blonde said with a smile gracing her lips at the memory.

A giggle was heard from the doorway. The two blonds looked up to find both Sakura and Iruka standing in the threshold, listening in while waiting to have their turn visiting with Naruto. Tsunade beckoned them in.

"Sakura-chan! Iruka-Sensei! It's so good to see you guys," Naruto chimed with a brilliant smile in place.

"It's good to see you awake," Sakura said as she made her way over to her blond teammate. "I was just making my rounds when I ran into Iruka-sensei. We decided to come and check on you together," she continued with a small relieved smile on her face.

"Yeah, I heard you were back home – safe and sound. I almost couldn't sit still through class," Iruka admitted bashfully; smiling at his favorite student, also with relief.

The both of them took turns hugging Naruto tightly before letting her go.

Said blonde beamed up at them from her seat on her hospital bed. "Thank you. That means a lot to me."

The two of them nodded before Iruka suddenly frowned. "You are not allowed to pull another stunt like this again, young lady, are we clear?" he told her in his authoritarian voice – this only made Naruto's smile brighten. Iruka really was a mother hen. It was one of his best – and at the same time most annoying – qualities. The teen loved him for it.

"Crystal clear, Iruka-nii."

Her word usage took Iruka by surprise, but he recovered quickly. Ever since the war, Naruto had been calling him 'sensei' less and less and took to addressing as family. It was very flattering and Iruka ate it up whenever he could. He was beside himself with joy that he could actually hear her say that to him again. He honestly feared that he'd never be able to again.

Naruto took notice of the tense atmosphere in the room; it wasn't bad, but she could tell that they were all worried that she'd disappear suddenly. As if this were all a dream and she really were killed.

"Come on you guys! It feels like a wake in here. I'm fine, really. I was in good hands," the blonde said from her position in the hospital bed, slightly shouting at the others in the room.

Tsunade scoffed. She still had a hard time believing that that damn Uchiha had saved her with good intentions. No one simply went from being a criminal to a hero overnight – it was simply too good to be true. She could tell that she wasn't the only one who held this opinion. Iruka and Sakura visibly tensed.

"Naruto . . . you don't seriously believe—" Naruto's eyes narrowed and she held up a hand to stop the rosette from uttering anything bad about their teammate.

"I'm sitting here, aren't I? You of all people should know that there is more to Sasuke than doom and gloom; revenge and pain. Even if we supplied him with a sliver of light in his life, we weren't enough. He never even had time to grieve. I'm sure he held onto his burden until he couldn't take it anymore. The confrontation with Itachi and Kisame six years ago was just the tip of the scale. Honestly, I understand; I'd probably have done the same if our roles were reversed."

The expressions of the three before her tightened ever so slightly. Naruto huffed. "You trust me, right?" she asked them in a serious tone. Her expression as unreadable as said ravens.

With reluctance the three of them nodded.

"We trust you, yes, but not him," Tsunade supplied.

"Fine. Don't trust him then; that's tolerable. But trust me, okay? When have my gut feelings ever led me astray?"

None of them could answer that. They all knew it was true. It was like a sixth sense for the Jinchūriki; Naruto just had that gift of hers. It was like she could see through the veil over someone's heart and know them – truly know them – and she warmed her way into their lives enough to show them the way and then set them free to make their own decisions. Her powers of persuasion and intuition were unlike any others.

"Alright. That's all well and good," Tsunade began. "But that does not erase the crimes he's committed. He has killed and attempted to kill various people; yourself included. You can't just erase something like that or treat it as a slap on the wrist. He's a rogue ninja. That's the bottom line. He'd be lucky if he got off with twenty to life. That's without parole."

Naruto steeled her expression.

She knew that Tsunade was right. Sasuke had multiple accounts against his head and not just in the land of fire, but in Kumo as well. He certainly wasn't well liked in Suna either. No matter how she looked at it, she was the only person in the world that wasn't wary of or detested the Uchiha. She usually had a plan for everything. Leave it to that damn teme to get himself into a situation that she could see no way out of. The only thing she could think of that would spare him, was to help him escape; this arose quite a few personal questions.

_**How much are you really willing to risk for the brat? **_the caged demon asked curiously.

_I honestly don't know. I'm so torn. I'm so close to accomplishing both of my goals that they both seem eons away_, she answered as her eyes became a bit unfocused in real life, indicating her talk with the demon.

_**So you're faced with either aiding and abetting a criminal or watching your friend – said criminal – die or rot in a cell. Lovely.**_

_Thanks for pointing out the perilous._

_**You're welcome.**_

Kyūbi had a point. It really was a tossup between two evils. How much more could she possibly give? She didn't have an answer for that. She knew she cared for Sasuke deeply though; enough to even develop some confusing feelings for him. She had always fought tooth and nail for him. It was only recently that he'd returned the favor. Sadly enough it came too late. He was now in custody. So what could she really do that was short of getting herself in trouble or him killed?

_Fuck. It. I'll wing it_, she decided.

_**This had better not get us killed**_, Kyūbi retorted with a sneer.

_No promises_.

_**You are a glutton for punishment.**_

_That depends on the perspective_, she replied with an internal grin. Suddenly she was aware of three pairs of eyes looking at her oddly.

"You'll wing what?" Tsunade asked with skepticism.

Shit! I said that aloud?

Yep.

"Er . . ." Naruto began. "Heheh . . . nothing?"

If the look on the Godaime's face was anything to go by, Naruto knew she was going to have a hell of a time with this.

xxx

"Do we have chalk anywhere in here?" Suigetsu asked offhandedly his face resting in his hand, in which his arm was resting on his knee, oh-so-very energetically.

"It has only been three hours," Jūgo pointed out.

"Wow, only three? This fucking sucks," the water-esque nin replied haughtily. If it were up to him, he'd have liquefied and slipped his way out of the damn cell a long time ago. ANBU were much too smart for that though. Once behind bars, they were weaponless, chakraless, and scantily clad; which sucked because it was really cold underneath the Hokage tower.

"Well I hope you're happy!" Suigetsu called out to Sasuke, who was in a cell of his own, across from them. The ANBU found that it was too dangerous for the three of them to be together. Their Taijutsu alone was formidable.

"Hn."

"What was that? I didn't hear you over all that E.M.O oozing from your direction!"

Sasuke refused to be baited into an argument. Especially with a person that didn't really care where he was. It was pointless. They both knew what they were getting into and went through with it anyway. The sad part was: Suigetsu knew he was just blowing off steam. He knew very well that he could have declined going any further.

Knowing that the raven was ignoring him made him all the more frustrated as he huffed and continued to kick a pebble around with his foot as he sat on the edge of a very uncomfortable cot.

"This is bullshit, they won't even allow us to read books," the teen complained as he stood up from the cot and slid down against the wall of the cell.

"Meditation helps. Why not try clearing your head? Everything will work itself out one way or another. There is no use blubbering about it," Jūgo offered; getting tired of his white haired companion whining.

"Or he could man the fuck up because he's only been here for three hours at most. You guys should try a year. It's not pleasant," Karin called from down the hall as she approached them; the heels of her boots clicking against the cobble stone floor.

She stood between the two cells with her hands on her hips. Her attire was much the same as before, just a bit more toned down and accented with a leaf headband around her upper left arm. She gave Sasuke a curt glare before facing the other two captives.

"Tch . . . only a year? What did you do? Give each guard frequent blow jobs?" Suigetsu bit out sarcastically. This didn't seem to faze the woman much; which was weird considering it was kind of their thing: to berate one another.

Instead she opted to grin cheekily.

"No, I just had my sugar mama bail me out."

Sasuke gave a snort of amusement from the opposite cell. It was all too clear who she was talking about.

"Unlike you guys – who probably won't even have parole," she continued. "Well. Maybe Jūgo will. Seeing as his problem is more understandable. You, however, and the backstabbing cunt in the next cell, are screwed. Not even she could work her magic here."

"You'd be surprised," Sasuke muttered.

"Oh . . . I'm sorry, did you say something, Sasuke? I could have sworn I heard something that sounded a little like a traitorous bitch, but I can't be too sure."

Suigetsu and Jūgo sighed. "Really? Mature much? Can't you two kiss and make up? I'm sure Tranny won't mind it, just this once," Suigetsu remarked and smacked his lips – creating a kissing sound – in the raven's direction.

"Why should I do that?" Karin bit back and glared at her ex-team mate.

"What are you doing here, Karin?" Jūgo interjected before the redhead could unleash her fury. He had enough of a headache just dealing with Suigetsu, he didn't need Karin to add to that.

The red-head turned her head slightly and looked at the male. Crossing her arms over her chest she answered; "I've been sent to baby sit. Apparently Shikamaru thought it'd be best if I were here watching you three; something about me knowing you guys better than them in the event of a jailbreak."

"That's not without a chaperone, I'm guessing."

"Why yes, how astute of you Uchiha!" she replied haughtily as she turned and clapped her hands sarcastically. "Apparently trust only goes so far, which is understandable. If I could I would let Jūgo and Suigetsu free."

"Which won't be happening," came another voice, echoing off of the stone walls as the person came walking toward them.

"You should know me better than that," Karin replied indignantly. "I may want to, but that doesn't mean I'm going to; wouldn't want the sugar mama getting upset over me not following orders."

Sai merely smiled a fake smile as he stood next to her. He took a glance over at Sasuke; his expression holding nothing but muted contempt.

"How is she, by the way?" Karin asked with mild concern. Sasuke, as well as the other two Taka team members perked up at this. They were curious as well.

"Godaime-sama checked her over. She still has small traces of poison in her bloodstream, but nothing life threatening. All of her injuries have healed. The most she had was a headache when she woke up. Tsunade-sama is still keeping her overnight in the hospital so she could get some rest, though. From what Sakura had told me, most of her and Kyūbi's energy went toward removing the poison."

Karin nodded. "That's a relief."

And really, it was. Sasuke exhaled a breath he hadn't realized he'd caught. He really didn't mean to cause any extra harm to the blond; it had just been an instant reaction. He was just glad she was here and not dead in a ditch somewhere.

Suigetsu seemed to catch on to this. Honestly he felt the same way and was sure Jūgo did too. It was amazing - that in such a short amount of time - how close he felt to her. It was like having a sibling that you just couldn't help but annoy. It was kind of nice.

Suigetsu looked up at Karin and studied her for the first time since she'd arrived.

He felt as if he were seeing her for the first time. She held herself with much more confidence than she had before. Sure, she was pig headed and a bitch before, but she always had this air of vulnerability about her. As if everything were a front. Truthfully a lot of the time it was. Suigetsu was sure that her crush on Sasuke helped fuel some of that insecurity. Infatuation did that to people. It was good seeing her like this though, even if she was brimming with disdain toward his – dare he say it – best friend.

Suigetsu was also fairly certain that – if they had some time before execution or whatnot – that those two would eventually make up.

"So Karin, you've really turned yourself around haven't you?"

This surprised the redhead immensely as she tuned out on her conversation with Sai. Said boy didn't seem to mind as she replied to the water nin. "Y-yeah. I mean, it beats being where you are. Sure, I fight constantly with the Hokage and I'm fairly sure she still doesn't like me, but I dunno. It's kind of comfortable here."

"That's good to hear," Suigetsu replied, giving a shot at sincerity.

"Er . . . thanks." Whether it was her hair color that emphasized her blush or not was unknown, but all she knew was that she couldn't hide it. She decided that this was the time to take her leave.

"Well. We have work to do. This really isn't a social hour. It was good seeing you two. Sai?" She motioned to her partner. He nodded and gave Sasuke and the other two one last scrutinizing look before following her down the hall.

Soon after they left Suigetsu picked the pebble he was kicking around up and off of the floor. Tossing it in his hand twice for a good measure, he chucked it at Sasuke, who simply dodged it. "Someone needs to do some serious ass kissing."

"Hn."

"No seriously!" he urged. "I may call her a whore; I may be the biggest dick on the planet to her, but what you did was fucked up, my emo friend. You need to kiss the ground she walks on, or else we're going to hear her bitch and berate you all the way up until we're either sentenced to prison for life or executed. Quite frankly, I'd rather not have many enemies when we go."

"I must agree," Jūgo piped up from his meditation.

"What was I supposed to do? Oh, Karin I know I'm in a jail cell and I know how insincere this is going to sound, but I'm sorry I stabbed you in the gut to kill the man that killed my clan. Insert smiley face and all is golden, right? Wrong. I'd look like an even bigger asshole, correct me if I'm mistaken."

"Okay, I agree with that too," Jūgo replied for the fuming Suigetsu. "But you really do need to clear that up. If you mean it, that is."

"I'm going to hell anyway. What can being sincere for once hurt?"

xxx

That night, as Naruto sat up in her hospital bed, she kept running through scenario after scenario, trying to figure her way out of this. The only thing she kept coming up with was blank. For years, she had exhausted herself trying to find and keep Sasuke safe. From everything she had no power over, to everything she did. Sure, there were a ton of failed attempts, but there were a ton of successes as well. She just thanked Itachi for finally waking Sasuke up. That man was something of miracles. She could kiss him if he weren't dead . . . or eyeless . . . and zombie like.

Somehow, thinking of Itachi led her to thinking about Madara, which led her to thinking about the time Madara told her, Kakashi, and Yamato about the truth; the true reason that the Uchiha clan had been wiped out. Suddenly the idea struck her.

_Oh my god that's it! _She exclaimed internally.

Kakashi, Yamato, and herself included – discounting Sasuke and Madara – were the only one's alive that knew the truth about Danzou and the village elders having a hand in genocide. She could use that to her advantage. Tsunade didn't know the truth. Tsunade also didn't know that she had traitors trying to give her orders from behind the scenes.

Suddenly Naruto was sick to her stomach with the thought that all this time; they were forcing her surrogate grandmother's hand. It was time that she knew; really knew the reason for everything that has come to pass for the last nineteen years.

The only problem was that without Kakashi, her case would be disregarded. She couldn't let that happen. Yamato was her only hope at setting Sasuke free; or at least sparing his life. Come hell or high water, Naruto wasn't letting Sasuke and the others go down without a fight.


End file.
